@article {52413,
	title = {Four years of simulated N and S depositions did not cause N saturation in a mixedwood boreal forest ecosystem in the oil sands region in northern Alberta Canada},
	volume = {280 },
	year = {2012},
	pages = {8 pages },
	publisher = {Forest Ecology and Management },
	abstract = {We conducted a simulated nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) deposition experiment in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) where NOx and SO2 have been emitted from oil sands mining/extracting and upgrading activities and then deposited to the surrounding ecosystems for decades. To evaluate changes in tree growth rates, N pool sizes, and nutrient losses by S and N deposition, the following four treatments were applied: control (CK), N addition (+N, 30 kg N ha-1 yr-1), S addition (+S, 30 kg S ha-1 yr-1), and +NS additions (+NS, 30 kg N and 30 kg S ha-1), from 2006 through 2009. Nitrogen addition increased (p < 0.05) tree growth in the +N and +NS treatments, indicating N-limitation in the studied forest, while none of the treatments affected understory growth or soil microbial biomass. The treatments affected inorganic N concentrations in the soil only immediately following N addition. Minimal amounts of NO3- were leached below 45 cm (considered to be below the main rooting zone) of the soil profile in any of the treatments. Decreases in exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ by N and S additions were likely due to increased tree uptake following increased tree growth in the former and increased leaching with sulfate in the latter. Although the lack of significant N leaching indicates that the risk of N saturation was low after 4 yr of elevated N deposition, reduction of exchangeable base cations implies that nutrient imbalance remains a concern in AOSR in the long term. 

},
	keywords = {field, microbiology, nitrogen, NOx, soil properties, sulphur and SO2, trees, UofA, vegetation characteristics},
	url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257197867},
	author = {Jung, K. and Chang, S. X.}
}
