Warming drives sustained plant phosphorus demand in a humid tropical forest. (20th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lie, Zhiyang; Zhou, Guoyi; Huang, Wenjuan; Kadowaki, Kohmei; Tissue, David T.; Yan, Junhua; Peñuelas, Josep; Sardans, Jordi; Li, Yuelin; Liu, Shizhong; Chu, Guowei; Meng, Ze; He, Xinhua; Liu, Juxiu
• Is Part Of: Global change biology. Volume 28:Number 13(2022)
• Page Start: 4085
• Page End: 4096
• Publication Date: 2022-04-20
• Subjects: iron reduction -- phosphatase activity -- phosphorus cycling -- phosphorus resorption -- tropics -- warming; Climatic changes -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Troposphere -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Biodiversity conservation -- Periodicals; Eutrophication -- Periodicals; 551.5
• DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16194
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1354-1013

Abstract

Abstract: Phosphorus (P) is often one of the most limiting nutrients in highly weathered soils of humid tropical forests and may regulate the responses of carbon (C) feedback to climate warming. However, the response of P to warming at the ecosystem level in tropical forests is not well understood because previous studies have not comprehensively assessed changes in multiple P processes associated with warming. Here, we detected changes in the ecosystem P cycle in response to a 7‐year continuous warming experiment by translocating model plant‐soil ecosystems across a 600‐m elevation gradient, equivalent to a temperature change of 2.1°C. We found that warming increased plant P content (55.4%) and decreased foliar N:P. Increased plant P content was supplied by multiple processes, including enhanced plant P resorption (9.7%), soil P mineralization (15.5% decrease in moderately available organic P), and dissolution (6.8% decrease in iron‐bound inorganic P), without changing litter P mineralization and leachate P. These findings suggest that warming sustained plant P demand by increasing the biological and geochemical controls of the plant‐soil P‐cycle, which has important implications for C fixation in P‐deficient and highly productive tropical forests in future warmer climates. Abstract : The response of phosphorus cycle to warming in tropical forests is not well understood. Our study found that warming increased plant P content and decreased foliar N:P. Increased plant P content was supplied by multiple processes, including enhanced plant P resorption, soil P mineralization, and dissolution, without changing litter P mineralization and leachate P. These findings suggest that warming sustained plant P demand by increasing the biological and geochemical controls of the plant‐soil P‐cycle, which has important implications for C fixation in P‐deficient and highly productive tropical forests in future warmer climates.