Nitrogen limitation constrains sustainability of ecosystem response to CO2

Peter B. Reich (), Sarah E. Hobbie, Tali Lee, David S. Ellsworth, Jason B. West, David Tilman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Shahid Naeem and Jared Trost
Additional contact information
Peter B. Reich: Department of Forest Resources
Sarah E. Hobbie: University of Minnesota
Tali Lee: Department of Forest Resources
David S. Ellsworth: University of Michigan
Jason B. West: University of Minnesota
David Tilman: University of Minnesota
Johannes M. H. Knops: University of Nebraska
Shahid Naeem: Columbia University
Jared Trost: Department of Forest Resources

Nature, 2006, vol. 440, issue 7086, 922-925

Abstract: Nitrogen sets the scene Future trends in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and thus future climate, will depend in part on the degree to which terrestrial ecosystems can accumulate CO2 emissions from human activities. A six-year grassland field study has found that the biomass enhancement due to elevated CO2 declines over time under ambient nitrogen supply, but not under nitrogen enrichment, suggesting that both natural variation among soils and variation in nitrogen deposition rates are likely to influence plant biomass accumulation responses to elevated CO2. Nitrogen is a limiting factor in many managed and unmanaged soils, so soil nitrogen may be an important constraint on the global response to elevated CO2.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04486

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