A view of NAPAP from north of the border

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Schindler, D. W.

• Despite widespread political interference with programs and confusion of science and policy, the NAPAP program has produced a number of sound, if not outstanding, publications documenting the effects of acidic deposition. NAPAP's outstanding strengths in aquatic science are in paleoecology and spatial surveys of chemistry. NAPAP has severe shortcomings in documentation of temporal trends, in deducing biological responses to acidification by organisms other than fish, in considering the effects of nitrogen deposition, and in considering results from countries other than the USA. Summaries of the NAPAP program in 1987 and 1990 underrepresent the extent of damage caused by acidification, as documented elsewhere in NAPAP's publications and by the peer-reviewed literature at large. Overall, it represents a mediocre return for a large amount of investment, and is a poor model for future large, multidisciplinary science projects.

• Date created

  1992

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Acid rain policy
  • NAPAP
  • Acid precipitation

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3QF8JN7D

• License

  © 1992 Ecological Society of America. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.