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- Title
Increases in the flux of carbon belowground stimulate nitrogen uptake and sustain the long-term enhancement of forest productivity under elevated CO₂.
- Authors
Drake, John E; Gallet-Budynek, Anne; Hofmockel, Kirsten S; Bernhardt, Emily S; Billings, Sharon A; Jackson, Robert B; Johnsen, Kurt S; Lichter, John; McCarthy, Heather R; McCormack, M Luke; Moore, David J P; Oren, Ram; Palmroth, Sari; Phillips, Richard P; Pippen, Jeffrey S; Pritchard, Seth G; Treseder, Kathleen K; Schlesinger, William H; Delucia, Evan H; Finzi, Adrien C
- Abstract
The earth's future climate state is highly dependent upon changes in terrestrial C storage in response to rising concentrations of atmospheric CO₂. Here we show that consistently enhanced rates of net primary production (NPP) are sustained by a C-cascade through the root-microbe-soil system; increases in the flux of C belowground under elevated CO₂ stimulated microbial activity, accelerated the rate of soil organic matter decomposition and stimulated tree uptake of N bound to this SOM. This process set into motion a positive feedback maintaining greater C gain under elevated CO₂ as a result of increases in canopy N content and higher photosynthetic N-use efficiency. The ecosystem-level consequence of the enhanced requirement for N and the exchange of plant C for N belowground is the dominance of C storage in tree biomass but the preclusion of a large C sink in the soil.
- Publication
Ecology letters, 2011, Vol 14, Issue 4, p349
- ISSN
1461-0248
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01593.x