Increased plant growth from nitrogen addition should conserve phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Inputs of available nitrogen (N) to ecosystems have grown over the recent past. There is limited general understanding of how increased N inputs affect the cycling and retention of other potentially limiting nutrients. Using a plant-soil nutrient model, and by explicitly coupling N and phosphorus (P) in plant biomass, we examine the impact of increasing N supply on the ecosystem cycling and retention of P, assuming that the main impact of N is to increase plant growth. We find divergent responses in the P cycle depending on the specific pathway by which nutrients are lost from the ecosystem. Retention of P is promoted if the relative propensity for loss of plant available P is greater than that for the loss of less readily available organic P. This is the first theoretical demonstration th

SUBMITTER: Perring MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2542866 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature