Abstract
Storms are the most significant disturbance events in temperate forests. Forests impacted by nitrogen deposition may face more severe storm damage as changes in soil and wood chemistry impact tree growth allocation, wood strength, and species composition. To examine these potential effects of nitrogen deposition, we measured tree damage from a windstorm in an aggrading forest that is part of a nitrogen fertilization experiment. We discovered that within the nitrogen fertilization treatment area there was significantly more basal area and stems damaged when compared to the reference treatment, and the nitrogen fertilization treatment had more snapped and severely damaged trees. Additionally, the effect of treatment and amount of damage to trees was different depending on tree species. If our results are indicative of the large and globally-distributed regions of temperate forests impacted by nitrogen deposition, then the increased windstorm disturbance risk posed by climate change could be more significant due to the effects of nitrogen deposition.
Highlights
Storms are the most significant source of disturbance in temperate forests [1]
Considering the lack of available studies documenting the interactive effects of N and storms in temperate forests, our objective was to examine whether enhanced N deposition led to greater windstorm damage in an aggrading temperate forest
After 12 years of ammonium sulfate additions, we found that the extent of damage from a localized windstorm was enhanced by fertilizer additions
Summary
Storm disturbance causes ecological disruption through the creation of canopy openings that alter tree mortality and recruitment [2,3]. The litter from storm disturbance can accelerate nutrient cycling [4] and cause forests to become major sources of atmospheric carbon [5]. Such ecological effects from storm disturbances can alter forest ecosystems for centuries [6], and even millennia [7]. Storm disturbances may weaken trees and make them more susceptible to secondary disturbances (e.g., insects, disease, drought, fire, additional storms) [9,10], further increasing the ecological disturbance and lowering economic value
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