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A shift in sulfur-cycle manipulation from atmospheric emissions to agricultural additions

Nature Geoscience volume 13, pages 597–604 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Burning fossil fuels has resulted in a prominent yet unintended manipulation of the global sulfur cycle. Emissions of sulfur dioxide and reactive sulfur to the atmosphere have caused widespread health and environmental impacts and have led, ultimately, to calls to decrease sulfur emissions. However, anthropogenic modification of the sulfur cycle is far from over. Using four contrasting case studies from across the United States, we show how high levels of sulfur are added to croplands as fertilizers and pesticides and constitute a major yet under-studied environmental perturbation. Long-term sulfur additions to crops probably cause similar consequences for the health of soil and downstream aquatic ecosystems as those observed in regions historically impacted by acid rain, yet the cascade of effects has not been broadly explored. A new wave of research on the sulfur cycle will require studies that examine the integrated roles of climate, hydrology and other element cycles in modifying sulfur processes and flows within and downgradient of agricultural source areas. Such research must include not only scientists, but also farmers, regulating authorities and land managers who are engaged in developing approaches to monitor and mitigate environmental and human health impacts.

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Fig. 1: Atmospheric S deposition to the United States.
Fig. 2: Current S use in US crops relative to the peak of atmospheric deposition (1973).
Fig. 3: Case study areas used to evaluate S mass balances.

Airbus, USGS, NGA, NASA, CGIAR, NCEAS, NLS, OS, NMA, Geodatastyrelsen, GSA, GSI and the GIS User Community.

Fig. 4: Sulfur mass balances for regional case study areas.
Fig. 5: Sources and effects of S in non-agricultural and agricultural areas.

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Data availability

Data for the atmospheric S deposition estimates are available through the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (https://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/) for wet deposition, the US Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Status and Trends Network (https://www.epa.gov/castnet) for dry deposition, and the PRISM spatial climate database (https://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/) for precipitation quantity. Data for sulfate export and stream discharge are available through the United States Geological Survey (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis).

Code availability

Code for the kriging analysis and modelling of atmospheric S deposition is available on GitHub (https://github.com/h-fakhraei/s_deposition.git). Code and information about Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge and Season modelling of sulfate export are available at https://github.com/USGS-R/EGRET.

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Acknowledgements

Development of this Perspective was supported by a National Geographic Society Expand the Field Grant and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (NSF EAR no. 1945388) to E.-L.S.H. and the Hubbard Brook Long-term Ecological Research Program supported by the National Science Foundation to C.T.D. (NSF DEB no. 33401200201861).

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  1. Habibollah Fakhraei

    Present address: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley & John T. Crawford

  2. Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley

  3. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Habibollah Fakhraei & Charles T. Driscoll

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E.-L.S.H. and C.T.D. designed and wrote the paper, and interpreted modelling simulations. J.T.C. and H.F. conducted the modelling simulations and contributed to the Supplementary Information.

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Correspondence to Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley.

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Hinckley, EL.S., Crawford, J.T., Fakhraei, H. et al. A shift in sulfur-cycle manipulation from atmospheric emissions to agricultural additions. Nat. Geosci. 13, 597–604 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0620-3

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