Journal article
Global change progressively increases foliar nitrogen-phosphorus ratios in China's subtropical forests
Global change biology, Vol.30(2), e17201
02/2024
PMID: 38385993
Web of Science ID: WOS:001177413700006
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Abstract
Globally increased nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratios (N/P) affect the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, but few studies have addressed the variation of foliar N/P over time in subtropical forests. Foliar N/P indicates N versus P limitation in terrestrial ecosystems. Quantifying long-term dynamics of foliar N/P and their potential drivers is crucial for predicting nutrient status and functioning in forest ecosystems under global change. We detected temporal trends of foliar N/P, quantitatively estimated their potential drivers and their interaction between plant types (evergreen vs. deciduous and trees vs. shrubs), using 1811 herbarium specimens of 12 widely distributed species collected during 1920-2010 across China's subtropical forests. We found significant decreases in foliar P concentrations (23.1%) and increases in foliar N/P (21.2%). Foliar N/P increased more in evergreen species (22.9%) than in deciduous species (16.9%). Changes in atmospheric CO
concentrations (
), atmospheric N deposition and mean annual temperature (MAT) dominantly contributed to the increased foliar N/P of evergreen species, while
, MAT, and vapor pressure deficit, to that of deciduous species. Under future Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios, increasing MAT and
would continuously increase more foliar N/P in deciduous species than in evergreen species, with more 12.9%, 17.7%, and 19.4% versus 6.1%, 7.9%, and 8.9% of magnitudes under the scenarios of SSP1-2.6, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5, respectively. The results suggest that global change has intensified and will progressively aggravate N-P imbalance, further altering community composition and ecosystem functioning of subtropical forests.
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Details
- Title
- Global change progressively increases foliar nitrogen-phosphorus ratios in China's subtropical forests
- Publication Details
- Global change biology, Vol.30(2), e17201
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Grant note
- 2022B1111230001 / Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province 2023B030305001 / Guangdong Flagship Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research 41771522 / National Natural Science Foundation of China 2023B1212060046 / Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden
- Copyright
- © 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Identifiers
- WOS:001177413700006; 99380501913006600
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences; Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English