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Nitrogen and phosphorus constrain the CO2 fertilization of global plant biomass

Publication ,  Journal Article
Terrer, C; Jackson, RB; Prentice, IC; Keenan, TF; Kaiser, C; Vicca, S; Fisher, JB; Reich, PB; Stocker, BD; Hungate, BA; Peñuelas, J; Piao, S ...
Published in: Nature Climate Change
September 1, 2019

Elevated CO2 (eCO2) experiments provide critical information to quantify the effects of rising CO2 on vegetation1–6. Many eCO2 experiments suggest that nutrient limitations modulate the local magnitude of the eCO2 effect on plant biomass1,3,5, but the global extent of these limitations has not been empirically quantified, complicating projections of the capacity of plants to take up CO27,8. Here, we present a data-driven global quantification of the eCO2 effect on biomass based on 138 eCO2 experiments. The strength of CO2 fertilization is primarily driven by nitrogen (N) in ~65% of global vegetation and by phosphorus (P) in ~25% of global vegetation, with N- or P-limitation modulated by mycorrhizal association. Our approach suggests that CO2 levels expected by 2100 can potentially enhance plant biomass by 12 ± 3% above current values, equivalent to 59 ± 13 PgC. The global-scale response to eCO2 we derive from experiments is similar to past changes in greenness9 and biomass10 with rising CO2, suggesting that CO2 will continue to stimulate plant biomass in the future despite the constraining effect of soil nutrients. Our research reconciles conflicting evidence on CO2 fertilization across scales and provides an empirical estimate of the biomass sensitivity to eCO2 that may help to constrain climate projections.

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Published In

Nature Climate Change

DOI

EISSN

1758-6798

ISSN

1758-678X

Publication Date

September 1, 2019

Volume

9

Issue

9

Start / End Page

684 / 689

Related Subject Headings

  • 0502 Environmental Science and Management
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0401 Atmospheric Sciences
 

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Terrer, C., Jackson, R. B., Prentice, I. C., Keenan, T. F., Kaiser, C., Vicca, S., … Franklin, O. (2019). Nitrogen and phosphorus constrain the CO2 fertilization of global plant biomass. Nature Climate Change, 9(9), 684–689. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0545-2
Terrer, C., R. B. Jackson, I. C. Prentice, T. F. Keenan, C. Kaiser, S. Vicca, J. B. Fisher, et al. “Nitrogen and phosphorus constrain the CO2 fertilization of global plant biomass.” Nature Climate Change 9, no. 9 (September 1, 2019): 684–89. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0545-2.
Terrer C, Jackson RB, Prentice IC, Keenan TF, Kaiser C, Vicca S, et al. Nitrogen and phosphorus constrain the CO2 fertilization of global plant biomass. Nature Climate Change. 2019 Sep 1;9(9):684–9.
Terrer, C., et al. “Nitrogen and phosphorus constrain the CO2 fertilization of global plant biomass.” Nature Climate Change, vol. 9, no. 9, Sept. 2019, pp. 684–89. Scopus, doi:10.1038/s41558-019-0545-2.
Terrer C, Jackson RB, Prentice IC, Keenan TF, Kaiser C, Vicca S, Fisher JB, Reich PB, Stocker BD, Hungate BA, Peñuelas J, McCallum I, Soudzilovskaia NA, Cernusak LA, Talhelm AF, Van Sundert K, Piao S, Newton PCD, Hovenden MJ, Blumenthal DM, Liu YY, Müller C, Winter K, Field CB, Viechtbauer W, Van Lissa CJ, Hoosbeek MR, Watanabe M, Koike T, Leshyk VO, Polley HW, Franklin O. Nitrogen and phosphorus constrain the CO2 fertilization of global plant biomass. Nature Climate Change. 2019 Sep 1;9(9):684–689.

Published In

Nature Climate Change

DOI

EISSN

1758-6798

ISSN

1758-678X

Publication Date

September 1, 2019

Volume

9

Issue

9

Start / End Page

684 / 689

Related Subject Headings

  • 0502 Environmental Science and Management
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0401 Atmospheric Sciences