Increases in the flux of carbon belowground stimulate nitrogen uptake and sustain the long-term enhancement of forest productivity under elevated CO2

Drake, John E.; Gallet‐Budynek, Anne; Hofmockel, Kirsten; Bernhardt, Emily S.; Billings, Sharon A.; Jackson, Robert B.; Johnsen, Kurt; Lichter, John; McCarthy, Heather R.; McCormack, M. Luke; Moore, David J. P.; Oren, Ram; Palmroth, Sari; Phillips, Richard P.; Pippen, Jeffrey S.; Pritchard, Seth G.; Treseder, Kathleen K.; Schlesinger, William H.; DeLucia, Evan H.; Finzi, Adrien C.

doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01593.x

Cited by 389 publications

(414 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(150 reference statements)

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“…It may be that ECM fungi are capable of decomposing secondary metabolites to retrieve the N contained therein. This idea gained recent support by Terrer et al (2016) who found that plant species colonized by ECM fungi were able to sustain increased growth under elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide despite low soil N availability a phenomenon that has also been reported by others (Drake et al 2011). One possible mechanism for this sustained growth response is that ECM fungi, supplied with additional C from host plants, are able to mine recalcitrant compounds for N thereby increasing plant N uptake (Phillips et al 2012;Terrer et al 2016).…”

Section: Final Thoughtsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Maintaining connectivity: understanding the role of root order and mycelial networks in fine root decomposition of woody plants

Beidler

Pritchard

2017

Plant Soil

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Background The predictive power of climate models is limited by an incomplete understanding of the controls on fine root decomposition and thus belowground carbon cycling. To more accurately model rates of decay, fine root heterogeneity needs to be addressed in fine root decomposition studies. Branching order integrates both structural and chemical properties that are important in indicating litter quality and decay rate. Scope We discuss current views on the controls and patterns of fine root decomposition in combination with recent findings related to the effects of branching order and mycorrhizal decomposition. We examine the counterintuitive finding that nitrogen rich, lower order roots decompose more slowly than woody, higher order roots in temperate and subtropical forests. ConclusionsWe posit that slower decomposition of first and second compared to higher order roots might be caused by the poor carbon quality associated with higher concentrations of phenols in lower order roots or by inhibition of saprophytes by the mycorrhizal fungi that often preferentially inhabit these roots. Alternatively, apparent recalcitrance of lower order roots could be an experimental artifact caused by severing pre-mortem mycelial connections during sample processing, or exclusion of animals that graze fungal structures by the small mesh sizes characteristic of litterbags. To better predict the residence time of the carbon contained in the entire fine root pool, existing methods should be applied to individual root orders when practical. New methods for characterizing decomposition of undisturbed roots that have senesced naturally are greatly needed.

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Section: Final Thoughtsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Maintaining connectivity: understanding the role of root order and mycelial networks in fine root decomposition of woody plants

Beidler

Pritchard

2017

Plant Soil

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“…In the nitrogen-limited boreal and Arctic ecosystems, the biologically available nitrogen (NH 4 and NO 3 ) is in short supply, although the flux of assimilated carbon below ground may stimulate the decomposition of nitrogen-containing soil organic matter (SOM), and the nitrogen uptake of trees (Drake et al, 2011;. The changes in easily decomposable carbon could enhance the decomposition of old SOM (Kuzyakov, 2010;Karhu et al, 2014), and thus increase the turnover rates of nitrogen in the rhizosphere, with possible growth-enhancing feedbacks on vegetation .…”

Section: Carbon Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX): towards a holistic understanding of the feedbacks and interactions in the land–atmosphere–ocean–society continuum in the northern Eurasian region

et al. 2016

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Abstract. The northern Eurasian regions and Arctic Ocean will very likely undergo substantial changes during the next decades. The Arctic-boreal natural environments play a crucial role in the global climate via albedo change, carbon sources and sinks as well as atmospheric aerosol production from biogenic volatile organic compounds. Furthermore, it is expected that global trade activities, demographic movement, and use of natural resources will be increasing in the Arctic regions. There is a need for a novel research approach, which not only identifies and tackles the relevant multi-disciplinary research questions, but also is able to make a holistic system analysis of the expected feedbacks. In this paper, we introduce the research agenda of the Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX), a multi-scale, multi-disciplinary and international program started in 2012 (https://www.atm.helsinki.fi/peex/). PEEX sets a research approach by which large-scale research topics are investigated from a system perspective and which aims to fill the key gaps in our understanding of the feedbacks and interactions between the land-atmosphereaquatic-society continuum in the northern Eurasian region. We introduce here the state of the art for the key topics in the PEEX research agenda and present the future prospects of the research, which we see relevant in this context.

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“…Feedbacks to decomposition and soil respiration, however, could be positive or negative and are hence more challenging to predict a priori (Hancock et al 2008). The transition to black birch could yield higher rates of soil respiration because warm temperatures and labile litter inputs may prime the decomposition of soil organic matter (Drake et al 2011). Alternatively, the loss of belowground biomass and C allocation could decrease the autotrophic contribution to total soil respiration (Hö gberg et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Net primary production and soil respiration in New England hemlock forests affected by the hemlock woolly adelgid

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The abundance of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) in eastern US forests has declined since the 1950s owing to the introduction of the non-native insect, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae). In southern New England, eastern hemlock is being replaced by the deciduous tree species, black birch (Betula lenta). To date there is little understanding of whether hemlock loss will fundamentally alter ecosystem C balance and component fluxes. In this study, we use a comparative approach to study potential changes in C fluxes and N cycling associated with HWA-induced hemlock decline and replacement. The stands include primary-and secondary-growth hemlock forests (.230 and 132 years old, respectively), recently disturbed stands (5 and 18 years old) that now have rapidly growing black birch saplings, and a mature black birch stand of age similar to the second-growth hemlock stand. We found that aboveground net primary production was higher in the aggrading black birch stand and significantly so at 18-years post-HWA compared to the secondary-hemlock stand it would likely replace. Rapid forest regrowth was accompanied by significantly higher rates of N uptake from the soil but also higher N-use efficiency because most of the N taken up from the soil was allocated to the production of wood with a high C-to-N ratio. In contrast to patterns of aboveground production, the rate of soil respiration was lowest in the young stands and not significantly different from the second-growth hemlock stand, suggesting little net effect of stand replacement on soil C efflux. The leaf litter decomposition study showed that black birch litter decomposed more rapidly than hemlock litter but that there was no effect of stand type on the rate of decomposition. Analyses of extracellular microbial exoenzyme activity painted a more nuanced pattern of variation among stands, with fine root biomass the only weakly explanatory variable. In combination with our prior work on C stocks, these results suggest that forests affected by HWA in southern New England will remain a sink for atmospheric CO 2 despite reorganization of stand structure and species composition.

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Increases in the flux of carbon belowground stimulate nitrogen uptake and sustain the long-term enhancement of forest productivity under elevated CO2

Cited by 389 publications

References 45 publications

Maintaining connectivity: understanding the role of root order and mycelial networks in fine root decomposition of woody plants

Maintaining connectivity: understanding the role of root order and mycelial networks in fine root decomposition of woody plants

Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX): towards a holistic understanding of the feedbacks and interactions in the land–atmosphere–ocean–society continuum in the northern Eurasian region

Net primary production and soil respiration in New England hemlock forests affected by the hemlock woolly adelgid

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