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Climate change impacts on mycorrhizae amplify nitrogen limitation on global plant growth
  • +9
  • Renato K. Braghiere,
  • Joshua Fisher,
  • Rosie A. Fisher,
  • Mingjie Shi,
  • Brian N Steidinger,
  • Benjamin N Sulman,
  • Nadia Soudzilovskaia,
  • Xiaojuan Yang,
  • Jingjing Liang,
  • Kabir G Peay,
  • Thomas W Crowther,
  • Richard P. Phillips
Renato K. Braghiere
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Joshua Fisher
Jet Propulsion Lab, Jet Propulsion Lab
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Rosie A. Fisher
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
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Mingjie Shi
Jet Propulsion Lab (NASA), Jet Propulsion Lab (NASA)
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Brian N Steidinger
Stanford University, Stanford University
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Benjamin N Sulman
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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Nadia Soudzilovskaia
Leiden University, Leiden University
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Xiaojuan Yang
Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge National Lab
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Jingjing Liang
Purdue University, Purdue University
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Kabir G Peay
Stanford University, Stanford University
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Thomas W Crowther
ETH Zürich, ETH Zürich
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Richard P. Phillips
Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University Bloomington
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Abstract

Most tree species predominantly associate with a single type of mycorrhizal fungi. Because of the principle differences in mycorrhizal associations, they can differentially affect plant nutrient acquisition and biogeochemical cycling. Here, we use the updated carbon-nitrogen economics within the Community Land Model version 5 (CLM5) to evaluate the impact of mycorrhizal association on the global nitrogen and carbon cycles. Different spatial distributions of plant mycorrhizal associations lead to clear differences in present day Net Primary Productivity by up to 345 ± 21 TgCyr-1, owing to the impacts of different symbioses on carbon costs of nitrogen acquisition (4.3% more costly than those originally proposed on average). Simulated global NPP increased throughout the 21st century by 20%, while the carbon costs of nitrogen acquisition have increased at a faster rate by 50%. This suggests that nutrient acquisition will increasingly demand a higher portion of assimilated carbon to support the same productivity.
16 Oct 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 19. 10.1029/2021GL094514