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Decoupling of nitrogen and phosphorus in terrestrial plants associated with global changes

Nature Climate Change volume 5, pages 465–469 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Living organisms maintain a balance of chemical elements for optimal growth and reproduction, which plays an important role in global biogeochemical cycles1,2,3,4,5. Human domination of Earth’s ecosystems has led to drastic global changes6,7,8, but it is unclear how these affect the stoichiometric coupling of nutrients in terrestrial plants, the most important food source on Earth. Here we use meta-analyses of 1,418 published studies to show that the ratio of terrestrial plant nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) decreases with elevated concentrations of CO2, increasing rainfall, and P fertilization, but increases with warming, drought, and N fertilization. Our analyses also reveal that multiple global change treatments generally result in overall additive effects of single-factor treatments and that the responses of plant nutrients and their stoichiometry are similar in direction, but often greater in controlled than in natural environments. Our results suggest a decoupling of the P biogeochemical cycle from N in terrestrial plants under global changes6,7,8, which in turn may diminish the provision of ecosystem services1,5,9.

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Figure 1: A conceptual diagram of the influence of global changes on processes controlling the stoichiometry of plant C, N and P.
Figure 2: Responses of plant N:P to global change treatments.
Figure 3: Paired meta-analysis of multi-factor studies.
Figure 4: Sensitivities of plant N:P response ratios to quantities of global change treatments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Council of Canada (Discovery Grant 283336), an Early Researcher Award and an Ontario Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (31370455) and 100 Talents Program of The Chinese Academy of Sciences. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada,

    Z. Y. Yuan & Han Y. H. Chen

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China

    Z. Y. Yuan

  3. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Science and Ministry of Water Resource, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China

    Z. Y. Yuan

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Contributions

Z.Y.Y. and H.Y.H.C. designed the project. Z.Y.Y. compiled the data set. Z.Y.Y. and H.Y.H.C. performed the analysis and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Han Y. H. Chen.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Yuan, Z., Chen, H. Decoupling of nitrogen and phosphorus in terrestrial plants associated with global changes. Nature Clim Change 5, 465–469 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2549

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