Dataset Information

Plant stoichiometric responses to elevated CO2 vary with nitrogen and phosphorus inputs: Evidence from a global-scale meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Rising levels of atmospheric CO2 have been implicated in changes in the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content of terrestrial vegetation; however, questions remain over the role of C, N and P interactions in driving plant nutrient stoichiometry, particularly whether N and P additions alter vegetation responses to CO2 enrichment singly. Here we use meta-analysis of 46 published studies to investigate the response of plant N and P to elevated CO2 alone and in combination with nutrient (N and P) additions across temperate vs. tropical biomes. Elevated CO2 reduces plant N concentrations more than plant P concentrations in total biomass pools, resulting in a significant decline in vegetation N/P. However, elevated CO2 treatments in combination with N additions increase plant P concentrations, whereas P additions have no statistical effect on plant N concentrations under CO2 enrichment. These results point to compensatory but asymmetrical interactions between N, P and CO2; that changes in N rapidly alter the availability of P, but not the converse, in response to increased CO2. Our finding implies widespread N limitation with increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations alone. We also suggest that increased anthropogenic N deposition inputs could enhance plant N and P in a progressively CO2-enriched biosphere.

SUBMITTER: Huang W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4677399 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Plant stoichiometric responses to elevated CO2 vary with nitrogen and phosphorus inputs: Evidence from a global-scale meta-analysis.

Huang Wenjuan W Houlton Benjamin Z BZ Marklein Alison R AR Liu Juxiu J Zhou Guoyi G

Scientific reports 20151214

Rising levels of atmospheric CO2 have been implicated in changes in the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content of terrestrial vegetation; however, questions remain over the role of C, N and P interactions in driving plant nutrient stoichiometry, particularly whether N and P additions alter vegetation responses to CO2 enrichment singly. Here we use meta-analysis of 46 published studies to investigate the response of plant N and P to elevated CO2 alone and in combination with nutrient (N and P) a ...[more]

PMID: 26656752

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Project description:A major frontier in global change research is predicting how multiple agents of global change will alter plant productivity, a critical component of the carbon cycle. Recent research has shown that plant responses to climate change are phylogenetically conserved such that species within some lineages are more productive than those within other lineages in changing environments. However, it remains unclear how phylogenetic patterns in plant responses to changing abiotic conditions may be altered by another agent of global change, the introduction of non-native species. Using a system of 28 native Tasmanian Eucalyptus species belonging to two subgenera, Symphyomyrtus and Eucalyptus, we hypothesized that productivity responses to abiotic agents of global change (elevated CO2 and increased soil N) are unique to lineages, but that novel interactions with a non-native species mediate these responses. We tested this hypothesis by examining productivity of 1) native species monocultures and 2) mixtures of native species with an introduced hardwood plantation species, Eucalyptus nitens, to experimentally manipulated soil N and atmospheric CO2. Consistent with past research, we found that N limits productivity overall, especially in elevated CO2 conditions. However, monocultures of species within the Symphyomyrtus subgenus showed the strongest response to N (gained 127% more total biomass) in elevated CO2 conditions, whereas those within the Eucalyptus subgenus did not respond to N. Root:shoot ratio (an indicator of resource use) was on average greater in species pairs containing Symphyomyrtus species, suggesting that functional traits important for resource uptake are phylogenetically conserved and explaining the phylogenetic pattern in plant response to changing environmental conditions. Yet, native species mixtures with E. nitens exhibited responses to CO2 and N that differed from those of monocultures, supporting our hypothesis and highlighting that both plant evolutionary history and introduced species will shape community productivity in a changing world.

Dataset Information

Plant stoichiometric responses to elevated CO2 vary with nitrogen and phosphorus inputs: Evidence from a global-scale meta-analysis.

Publications

Plant stoichiometric responses to elevated CO2 vary with nitrogen and phosphorus inputs: Evidence from a global-scale meta-analysis.

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