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Damgaard, Christian; Jensen, Lennarth; Frohn, Lise Marie; Borchsenius, Finn; Nielsen, Knud Erik; Ejrnæs, Rasmus and Stevens, Carly J.
(2011).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2011.04.003
Abstract
The effect of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on the species richness in acid grasslands was investigated by combining data from a large Danish monitoring program with a large European data set, where a significant non-linear negative effect of nitrogen deposition on species richness already had been demonstrated (Stevens, et al., 2010a). The nitrogen deposition range in Denmark is relatively small and when only considering the Danish data a non-significant decrease in the species richness with nitrogen deposition was observed. However, when both data sets were combined, then the conclusion of the European survey was further corroborated by the results of the Danish monitoring. Furthermore, by combining the two data sets, which were sampled with different protocols, a more comprehensive picture of the threats to the biodiversity of acid grasslands emerge; i.e., species richness in remnant patches of acid grassland in intensively cultivated agricultural landscapes is under influence not only from nitrogen deposition, but also from current and historical land use.