Response of Norwegian alpine communities to nitrogen

The effect of nitrogen pollution on species cover was tested in the Dovre mountains, south-central Norway, through a three-year fertilisation experiment in a low-alpine community and a two-year one in a middle-alpine community, both dominated by lichens. The doses used were 0.7, 3.5 and 7 g N/m², the highest doses corresponding to 1.75 and 3.5 times the annual deposition of nitrogen in southwestern Norway. The results were tested using the SAS/STAT/MIXED procedure. Using the Bonferroni correction, the procedure did not confirm a change in the cover of single species due to increased nitrogen supply, but there seemed to be a general tendency for an increase in cover in the low-alpine Cetrarietum nivalis community. When less rigorous tests were applied, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Polytrichum piliferum, Cetraria nivalis and Cladonia mitis in Cetrarietum nivalis, and Cladonia coccifera in Phyllodoco-Juncetum trifidi seemed to indicate that nitrogen had some effect on these communities. The lack of a clear response in single species may be due to the application of low doses over a short time-span in an environment characterised by large interannual variations in climate, the deficiency of other important nutrients, dryness, the low growth potential of the species involved, and, to some extent, the community structure.