Impacts of extreme weather events on terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycling: A global meta-analysis

Qing Qu; Hongwei Xu; Zemin Ai; Minggang Wang; Guoliang Wang; Guobin Liu; Violette Geissen; Coen J Ritsema; Sha Xue

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120996

Impacts of extreme weather events on terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycling: A global meta-analysis

Environ Pollut. 2023 Feb 15:319:120996. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120996. Epub 2023 Jan 3.

Authors

Qing Qu¹, Hongwei Xu², Zemin Ai³, Minggang Wang⁴, Guoliang Wang¹, Guobin Liu¹, Violette Geissen⁵, Coen J Ritsema⁵, Sha Xue⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
² National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
³ College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710054, China.
⁴ The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
⁵ Wageningen University & Research, Soil Physics and Land Management, POB 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: xuesha100@163.com.

PMID: 36608729
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120996

Abstract

Some weather events like drought, increased precipitation, and warming exert substantial impact on the terrestrial C and N cycling. However, it remains largely unclear about the effect of extreme weather events (extreme drought, heavy rainfall, extreme heat, and extreme cold) on terrestrial C and N cycling. This study aims to analyze the responses of pools and fluxes of C and N in plants, soil, and microbes to extreme weather events by conducting a global meta-analysis of 656 pairwise observations. Results showed that extreme weather events (extreme drought, heavy rainfall, and extreme heat) decreased plant biomass and C flux, and extreme drought and heavy rainfall decreased the plant N pool and soil N flux. These results suggest that extreme weather events weaken the C and N cycling process in terrestrial ecosystems. However, this study did not determine the impact of extreme cold on ecosystem C and N cycling. Additional field experiments are needed to reveal the effects of extreme cold on global C and N cycling patterns.

Keywords: Drought; Extreme climate change; Global warming; Increased rainfall; Nutrient absorption; Productivity.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

Carbon
Ecosystem*
Extreme Weather*
Nitrogen / analysis
Soil

Substances

Carbon
Soil
Nitrogen