Dry deposition of ammonia at environmental concentrations on selected plant species.

The deposition velocity of NH/sub 3/ on six plant species at environmental concentrations has been studied in a dynamic plant gas exchange reactor. The total resistance to the transport of NH/sub 3/ was studied. The aerodynamic resistance was determined directly by NH/sub 3/ gas absorption in aqueous solutions at environmental concentrations in a two-phase gradientless reactor modeling the transfer processes through the stomata in a leaf. The concentration of NH/sub 3/ in the gas phase ranged from 50 to 1000 ppb and the temperature varied from 25 to 30/sup 0/C. The results for the deposition velocity for NH/sub 3/, during the day, varied from 0.3 to 1.3 cm/s. The deposition velocities at night were about one order of magnitude smaller. These results are compared with estimates from the Froessling equation which consistently yields higher values of the same order of magnitude. To determine accurate atmospheric transport models or global budget models, a variable deposition velocity should be used to account for the diurnal and seasonal variations in the surface resistance.