N and P constrain C in ecosystems under climate change: Role of nutrient redistribution, accumulation, and stoichiometry

Edward B Rastetter; Bonnie L Kwiatkowski; David W Kicklighter; Audrey Barker Plotkin; Helene Genet; Jesse B Nippert; Kimberly O'Keefe; Steven S Perakis; Stephen Porder; Sarah S Roley; Roger W Ruess; Jonathan R Thompson; William R Wieder; Kevin Wilcox; Ruth D Yanai

doi:10.1002/eap.2684

N and P constrain C in ecosystems under climate change: Role of nutrient redistribution, accumulation, and stoichiometry

Ecol Appl. 2022 Dec;32(8):e2684. doi: 10.1002/eap.2684. Epub 2022 Jul 25.

Authors

Edward B Rastetter¹, Bonnie L Kwiatkowski¹, David W Kicklighter¹, Audrey Barker Plotkin², Helene Genet³, Jesse B Nippert⁴, Kimberly O'Keefe⁵, Steven S Perakis⁶, Stephen Porder⁷, Sarah S Roley^{8

9}, Roger W Ruess¹⁰, Jonathan R Thompson², William R Wieder^{11

12}, Kevin Wilcox¹³, Ruth D Yanai¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA.
² Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
⁴ Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA.
⁵ Department of Biological Sciences, Saint Edward's University, Austin, Texas, USA.
⁶ U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
⁷ Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
⁸ School of the Environment, Washington State University, Richland, Washington, USA.
⁹ W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Biology and Wildlife, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
¹¹ Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹² Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹³ Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Sustainable Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, USA.

Abstract

We use the Multiple Element Limitation (MEL) model to examine responses of 12 ecosystems to elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂ ), warming, and 20% decreases or increases in precipitation. Ecosystems respond synergistically to elevated CO₂ , warming, and decreased precipitation combined because higher water-use efficiency with elevated CO₂ and higher fertility with warming compensate for responses to drought. Response to elevated CO₂ , warming, and increased precipitation combined is additive. We analyze changes in ecosystem carbon (C) based on four nitrogen (N) and four phosphorus (P) attribution factors: (1) changes in total ecosystem N and P, (2) changes in N and P distribution between vegetation and soil, (3) changes in vegetation C:N and C:P ratios, and (4) changes in soil C:N and C:P ratios. In the combined CO₂ and climate change simulations, all ecosystems gain C. The contributions of these four attribution factors to changes in ecosystem C storage varies among ecosystems because of differences in the initial distributions of N and P between vegetation and soil and the openness of the ecosystem N and P cycles. The net transfer of N and P from soil to vegetation dominates the C response of forests. For tundra and grasslands, the C gain is also associated with increased soil C:N and C:P. In ecosystems with symbiotic N fixation, C gains resulted from N accumulation. Because of differences in N versus P cycle openness and the distribution of organic matter between vegetation and soil, changes in the N and P attribution factors do not always parallel one another. Differences among ecosystems in C-nutrient interactions and the amount of woody biomass interact to shape ecosystem C sequestration under simulated global change. We suggest that future studies quantify the openness of the N and P cycles and changes in the distribution of C, N, and P among ecosystem components, which currently limit understanding of nutrient effects on C sequestration and responses to elevated CO₂ and climate change.

Keywords: carbon dioxide fertilization; carbon sequestration; carbon-nitrogen interactions; carbon-phosphorus interactions; climate change; long-term ecological research (LTER); nitrogen cycle; phosphorus cycle; terrestrial ecosystem stoichiometry.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Carbon Dioxide / analysis
Climate Change*
Ecosystem*
Nitrogen / analysis
Nutrients
Soil

Substances

Carbon Dioxide
Soil
Nitrogen