Forest-edge effects on sea-salt aerosol deposition : a wind-tunnel study using living oak leaves

Landscape patchiness creates aerodynamic transition zones that affect the exchange of nutrients and pollutants between the atmosphere and vegetation. Using an artificially-generated NaCl aerosol (mass-versus-particle-size distribution with aerodynamic mean particle diameter 1.6 mu m; geometric standard deviation 1.9), we investigated the forest-edge effect on aerosol deposition within a model oak (Quercus robur) canopy in a wind tunnel with an emulated beach-to-forest transition. The deposition rate around the forest edge was 2-3 times higher than to the beach and 50%-60% higher than to the interior of the forest. The deposition velocity at the edge was 0.06 cm s(-1), which is 2-3 times higher than the beach-deposition velocity. Our results can help improve estimates of aerosol-borne inputs of nutrients or pollutants to forested landscapes that experience shifts in meteorological regimes due to changes in climate and forestry practices, in particular with respect to deciduous species in coastal environments.