A general framework for nitrogen deposition effects on soil respiration in global forests

作者：Xiaoyu Cen, Peter M. Vitousek, Nianpeng He, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Shuli Niu, Enzai Du, Kailiang Yu, Mianhai Zheng, Kevin Van Sundert, Elizabeth Paulus, Liyin He, Xu Li, Mingxu Li, Klaus Butterbach‐Bahl · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-025-67203-8 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics、Plant responses to elevated CO2

Abstract Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities have altered atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to global forests, affecting carbon dioxide emissions from soils (soil respiration or SR) – one of the largest land-atmosphere carbon fluxes. However, experimental studies have demonstrated both positive and negative effects of N deposition on SR in global forests, leading to debates on how N deposition increases or decreases SR. We developed a framework for generalizing SR responses to N deposition using synthesized data from 168 N addition experiments worldwide and observed SR across the global natural N deposition gradient. The findings indicate that N deposition decreased SR in 2.9% of global forested areas, particularly in eastern China, western Europe, and the eastern USA. However, the net effect of N deposition increased the global forest SR by ~5% (1.7 ± 0.1 PgC yr –1 ). If N pollution could be effectively controlled, global forest SR would decrease, potentially contributing to a reduction in the terrestrial carbon emissions.