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During the past century atmospheric nitrogen deposition increased dramatically due to human activities worldwide. Currently, it exceeds the critical load for nitrogen (CLN) in over 90% of the Swiss forest area and raised bogs, in 80% of all fens and in 30% of species-rich grassland areas in Switzerland. Indirect gaseous nitrogen losses (HNO 2 , NO, N 2 O, N 2 ) from these soils induced by atmospheric nitrogen deposition are likely to be substantial. However, the approaches to estimate these indirect N emissions provided by the international organisations (UNFCCC, IPCC; UNECE, EMEP/EEA) are based on agricultural data only. They may not be suitable to estimate the indirect emissions from (semi-)natural ecosystems such as forests, extensively used grassland, and wetlands. The present study aims at calculating ecosystem-specific annual indirect N 2 O and NO emissions of (semi-)natural ecosystems in Switzerland for the years 1990, 2000, 2007 and 2010 using a simple linear model similar to the international guidelines. The approach here is based on empirical data for (semi-)natural ecosystems, derived from a literature survey, is driven by atmospheric nitrogen deposition and is ecosystem-specific with a high spatial resolution of 100 m × 100 m. Our results show that such ecosystems represent a strong source of indirect N emissions induced by atmospheric nitrogen deposition and emitted 1.61 ± 0.32 Gg N 2 O–N and 2.51 ± 0.53 Gg NO–N into the atmosphere in Switzerland in the year 2010, corresponding to 21% of the total Swiss N 2 O emissions and 10% of the NO x emissions. Thanks to the reduction of N emissions and thereby reduced atmospheric N deposition, the indirect N 2 O and NO emissions from (semi-)natural ecosystems are estimated to have been both reduced by c. 20% from 1990 to 2010. We conclude that the source strength for N 2 O and NO emissions of (semi-)natural ecosystems have been underestimated by the current approaches of IPCC and EMEP/EEA by a factor of 4.4 and 17, respectively. In regions and countries with a high fraction of (semi-)natural ecosystems, the approach offered here has the potential to improve the estimate of indirect N emissions substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is driving nutrient imbalances, soil acidification, biodiversity losses and the long-term reduction in stability of sensitive ecosystems which previously had limited N. In this study, we analysed the concentrations of seven different N compounds in precipitation and in the air at 34 sites across Switzerland. We calculated the N deposition by precipitation (bulk deposition) and applied the inferential method to derive dry deposition (gases, aerosols) from air concentrations. We then quantified the total inorganic N deposition by adding together the bulk and dry deposition. Finally, the total inorganic N input into the sensitive ecosystems of the 34 sites was compared to the critical loads of these ecosystems. N deposition by precipitation was the main contributor to the total N load in 16 out of 34 sites, especially into open ecosystems such as alpine/subalpine grassland, mountain hay meadows, and raised bogs. Dry deposition of ammonia (NH 3) was the second most important pathway, in particular for forests close to agricultural activities, due to high NH 3 concentrations and the higher deposition velocity. The N deposition exceeded the lower limit of the Critical Load of Nitrogen (CLN) range at most sites, and at many sites even surpassed the upper limit of the CLN range. No, or minor, exceedances of the critical loads for N were found only at remote sites at higher elevation in the Central Alps. Annual inorganic N deposition between 2000 and 2017 revealed a significant decline in oxidised N compounds at four of five sites (−1.6–1.8% per year), but reduced compounds only decreased at two sites (−1% and −1.4% per year) and even increased at one site (+1.2% per year), despite adopted abatement strategies for agricultural practices. This emphasises that most sensitive ecosystems in Switzerland continue to be exposed to excessive N loads through atmospheric deposition, with detrimental consequences for the biodiversity and stability of these ecosystems. • Current inorganic nitrogen (N) input to sensitive Swiss ecosystems exceeds the critical loads. • N deposition by precipitation is the main contributor to N loading in non-forested ecosystems. • Dry deposition of NH 3 from agricultural activities adds substantially to the N load in forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]