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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.

J. Drake,A. Gallet‐Budynek,K. Hofmockel,E. Bernhardt,S. Billings,R. B. Jackson,Kurt S Johnsen,J. Lichter,H. McCarthy,M. L. McCormack,D. Moore,R. Oren,S. Palmroth,Richard P Phillips,J. Pippen,S. Pritchard,K. Treseder,W. Schlesinger,E. DeLucia,A. Finzi

Published 2011 in Ecology Letters

ABSTRACT

The earth's future climate state is highly dependent upon changes in terrestrial C storage in response to rising concentrations of atmospheric CO₂. Here we show that consistently enhanced rates of net primary production (NPP) are sustained by a C-cascade through the root-microbe-soil system; increases in the flux of C belowground under elevated CO₂ stimulated microbial activity, accelerated the rate of soil organic matter decomposition and stimulated tree uptake of N bound to this SOM. This process set into motion a positive feedback maintaining greater C gain under elevated CO₂ as a result of increases in canopy N content and higher photosynthetic N-use efficiency. The ecosystem-level consequence of the enhanced requirement for N and the exchange of plant C for N belowground is the dominance of C storage in tree biomass but the preclusion of a large C sink in the soil.

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