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response of ecosystem carbon and nitrogen pools to experimental warming in grasslands: a meta-analysis.
- Source :
- Journal of Plant Ecology; Aug2022, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p733-742, 10p
- Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) coupling processes in terrestrial ecosystems have the potential to modify the sensitivity of the global C cycle to climate change. But the degree to which C–N interactions contribute to the sequestration of terrestrial ecosystem C (C<subscript>seq</subscript>), both now and in the future, remains uncertain. In this study, we used a meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize C and N responses from field experiments on grasslands subjected to simulated warming and assessed the relative importance of three properties (changes in ecosystem N amount, redistribution of N among soil, litter and vegetation, and modifications in the C:N ratio) associated with grassland C<subscript>seq</subscript> in response to warming. Warming increased soil, litter and vegetation C:N ratios and approximately 2% of N shifted from the soil to vegetation and litter. Warming-induced grassland C<subscript>seq</subscript> was the result of the net balance between increases in vegetation and litter C (111.2 g m<superscript>−2</superscript>) and decreases in soil C (30.0 g m<superscript>−2</superscript>). Warming-induced accumulation of C stocks in grassland ecosystems indicated that the three processes examined were the main contributors to C<subscript>seq</subscript>, with the changes in C:N ratios in soil, litter and vegetation as the major contributors, followed by N redistribution, whilst a decrease in total N had a negative effect on C<subscript>seq</subscript>. These results indicate that elevated temperatures have a significant influence on grassland C and N stocks and their coupling processes, suggesting that ecological models need to include C–N interactions for more accurate predictions of future terrestrial C storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17529921
- Volume :
- 15
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Plant Ecology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 158630665
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtac020