Effects of rising CO2 levels on carbon sequestration are coordinated above and below ground

Bastos, Ana; Fleischer, Katrin

doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00737-1

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24 March 2021

Effects of rising CO₂ levels on carbon sequestration are coordinated above and below ground

An analysis of experiments in which the air around terrestrial plants or plant communities was enriched with carbon dioxide reveals a coordination between the resulting changes in soil carbon stocks and above-ground plant biomass.

Ana Bastos⁰ &
Katrin Fleischer¹

Ana Bastos
1. Ana Bastos is in the Department of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena 07745, Germany.
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Katrin Fleischer
1. Katrin Fleischer is in the Department of Biogeochemical Signals, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena 07745, Germany.
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In a paper in Nature, Terrer et al.¹ reveal an unexpected trade-off between the effects of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on plant biomass and on stocks of soil carbon. Contrary to the assumptions encoded in most computational models of terrestrial ecosystems, the accrual of soil carbon is not positively related to the amount of carbon taken up by plants for biomass growth when CO₂ concentrations increase. Instead, the authors show that carbon accumulates in soils when there is a small boost in plant biomass growth in response to CO₂, and declines when the growth of biomass is high. Terrer et al. propose that associations of plants with mycorrhizal soil fungi are a key factor in this relationship between the above- and below-ground responses to elevated CO₂ levels.

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Nature 591, 532-534 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00737-1

References

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[1] Terrer, C. et al. Nature 591, 599–603 (2021).
Article Google Scholar

[2] Ciais, P. et al. in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Stocker, T. F. et al.) Ch.6, 465–570 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014).
Google Scholar

[3] Drake, B. G., Gonzàlez-Meler, M. A. & Long, S. P. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 48, 609–639 (1997).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[4] Walker, A. P. et al. New Phytol. 229, 2413–2445 (2021).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[5] Terrer, C., Vicca, S., Hungate, B. A., Phillips, R. P. & Prentice, I. C. Science 353, 72–74 (2016).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[6] Tian, H. et al. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 29, 775–792 (2015).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[7] Fleischer, K. et al. Nature Geosci. 12, 736–741 (2019).
Article Google Scholar

[8] Bossio, D. A. et al. Nature Sustain. 3, 391–398 (2020).
Article Google Scholar

[9] Jiang, M. et al. Glob. Change Biol. 26, 5856–5873 (2020).
Article Google Scholar

[10] Ahlström, A., Schurgers, G., Arneth, A. & Smith, B. Environ. Res. Lett. 7, 044008 (2012).
Article Google Scholar

[11] Norby, R. J. et al. New Phytol. 209, 17–28 (2016).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[12] Lugli, L. F. et al. New Phytol. 230, 116–128 (2021).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[13] Ainsworth, E. A. & Long, S. P. New Phytol. 165, 351–372 (2005).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[14] Lawrence, D. M. et al. J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst. 11, 4245–4287 (2019).
Article Google Scholar

[15] Yu, L., Ahrens, B., Wutzler, T., Schrumpf, M. & Zaehle, S. Geosci. Model Dev. 13, 783–803 (2020).
Article Google Scholar

Effects of rising CO₂ levels on carbon sequestration are coordinated above and below ground

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