Differential effects of nitrogen vs. phosphorus limitation on terrestrial carbon storage in two subtropical forests: A Bayesian approach

Zhenggang Du; Jiawei Wang; Guiyao Zhou; Shahla Hosseini Bai; Lingyan Zhou; Yuling Fu; Chuankuan Wang; Huiming Wang; Guirui Yu; Xuhui Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148485

Differential effects of nitrogen vs. phosphorus limitation on terrestrial carbon storage in two subtropical forests: A Bayesian approach

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Nov 15:795:148485. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148485. Epub 2021 Jun 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Tiantong National Field Observation Station for Forest Ecosystem, Center for Global Change and Ecological Forecasting, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
² Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia.
³ Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
⁴ Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁵ Tiantong National Field Observation Station for Forest Ecosystem, Center for Global Change and Ecological Forecasting, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China. Electronic address: xhzhou@des.ecnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34252769
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148485

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have been demonstrated to limit terrestrial carbon (C) storage in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the reliable indicator to infer N and P limitation are still lacking, especially in subtropical forests. Here we used a terrestrial ecosystem (TECO) model framework in combination with a Bayesian approach to evaluate effects of nutrient limitation from added N/P processes and data sets on C storage capacities in two subtropical forests (Tiantong and Qianyanzhou [QYZ]). Three of the six simulation experiments were developed with assimilating data (TECO C model with C data [C-C], TECO C-N coupling model with C and N data [CN-CN], and TECO C-N-P model with C, N, and P data [CNP-CNP]), and the other three ones were simulated without assimilating data (C-only, CN-only, and CNP-only). We found that P dominantly constrained C storage capacities in Tiantong (42%) whereas N limitation decreased C storage projections in QYZ (44%). Our analysis indicated that the stoichiometry of wood biomass and soil microbe (e.g., N:P ratio) were more sensitive indicators of N or P limitation than that of other pools. Furthermore, effects of P-induced limitation were mainly on root biomass by additional P data and on both metabolic litter and soil organic carbon (SOC) by added P processes. N-induced effects were mainly from added N data that limited plant non-photosynthetic tissues (e.g., woody biomass and litter). The different effects of N and P modules on C storage projections reflected the diverse nutrient acquisition strategies associated with stand ages and plant species under nutrient stressed environment. These findings suggest that the interaction between plants and microorganisms regulate effects of nutrient availability on ecosystem C storage, and stoichiometric flexibility of N and P in plant and soil C pools could improve the representation of N and P limitation in terrestrial ecosystem models.

Keywords: Biological stoichiometry; Data assimilation; Nitrogen process; Nutrient limitation; Phosphorus process.

MeSH terms

Bayes Theorem
Biomass
Carbon
Ecosystem
Forests
Nitrogen* / analysis
Phosphorus*
Soil

Substances

Soil
Phosphorus
Carbon
Nitrogen