Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline
Treelines advance due to climate warming. The impacts of this vegetation shift on plant–soil nutrient cycling are still uncertain, yet highly relevant as nutrient availability stimulates tree growth. Here, we investigated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in plant and soil pools along two tundra–fores...
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ftethz:oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/664622 2024-04-21T08:06:35+00:00 Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline Fetzer, Jasmin id_orcid:0 000-0002-6889-7745 Moiseev, Pavel Frossard, Emmanuel Kaiser, Klaus Mayer, Mathias Gavazov, Konstantin Hagedorn, Frank 2024-03 application/application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/664622 https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000664622 en eng Wiley-Blackwell info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/gcb.17200 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/001178705300001 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/664622 doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000664622 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Global Change Biology, 30 (3) biogeochemistry climate change elevation gradient extracellular enzymatic activity forest microbial biomass nutrient cycling stoichiometry tundra info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2024 ftethz https://doi.org/20.500.11850/66462210.3929/ethz-b-00066462210.1111/gcb.17200 2024-03-27T15:05:05Z Treelines advance due to climate warming. The impacts of this vegetation shift on plant–soil nutrient cycling are still uncertain, yet highly relevant as nutrient availability stimulates tree growth. Here, we investigated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in plant and soil pools along two tundra–forest transects on Kola Peninsula, Russia, with a documented elevation shift of birch-dominated treeline by 70 m during the last 50 years. Results show that although total N and P stocks in the soil–plant system did not change with elevation, their distribution was significantly altered. With the transition from high-elevation tundra to low-elevation forest, P stocks in stones decreased, possibly reflecting enhanced weathering. In contrast, N and P stocks in plant biomass approximately tripled and available P and N in the soil increased fivefold toward the forest. This was paralleled by decreasing carbon (C)-to-nutrient ratios in foliage and litter, smaller C:N:P ratios in microbial biomass, and lower enzymatic activities related to N and P acquisition in forest soils. An incubation experiment further demonstrated manifold higher N and P net mineralization rates in litter and soil in forest compared to tundra, likely due to smaller C:N:P ratios in decomposing organic matter. Overall, our results show that forest expansion increases the mobilization of available nutrients through enhanced weathering and positive plant–soil feedback, with nutrient-rich forest litter releasing greater amounts of N and P upon decomposition. While the low N and P availability in tundra may retard treeline advances, its improvement toward the forest likely promotes tree growth and forest development. ISSN:1354-1013 ISSN:1365-2486 Article in Journal/Newspaper kola peninsula Subarctic Tundra ETH Zürich Research Collection |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
ETH Zürich Research Collection |
op_collection_id |
ftethz |
language |
English |
topic |
biogeochemistry climate change elevation gradient extracellular enzymatic activity forest microbial biomass nutrient cycling stoichiometry tundra |
spellingShingle |
biogeochemistry climate change elevation gradient extracellular enzymatic activity forest microbial biomass nutrient cycling stoichiometry tundra Fetzer, Jasmin id_orcid:0 000-0002-6889-7745 Moiseev, Pavel Frossard, Emmanuel Kaiser, Klaus Mayer, Mathias Gavazov, Konstantin Hagedorn, Frank Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
topic_facet |
biogeochemistry climate change elevation gradient extracellular enzymatic activity forest microbial biomass nutrient cycling stoichiometry tundra |
description |
Treelines advance due to climate warming. The impacts of this vegetation shift on plant–soil nutrient cycling are still uncertain, yet highly relevant as nutrient availability stimulates tree growth. Here, we investigated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in plant and soil pools along two tundra–forest transects on Kola Peninsula, Russia, with a documented elevation shift of birch-dominated treeline by 70 m during the last 50 years. Results show that although total N and P stocks in the soil–plant system did not change with elevation, their distribution was significantly altered. With the transition from high-elevation tundra to low-elevation forest, P stocks in stones decreased, possibly reflecting enhanced weathering. In contrast, N and P stocks in plant biomass approximately tripled and available P and N in the soil increased fivefold toward the forest. This was paralleled by decreasing carbon (C)-to-nutrient ratios in foliage and litter, smaller C:N:P ratios in microbial biomass, and lower enzymatic activities related to N and P acquisition in forest soils. An incubation experiment further demonstrated manifold higher N and P net mineralization rates in litter and soil in forest compared to tundra, likely due to smaller C:N:P ratios in decomposing organic matter. Overall, our results show that forest expansion increases the mobilization of available nutrients through enhanced weathering and positive plant–soil feedback, with nutrient-rich forest litter releasing greater amounts of N and P upon decomposition. While the low N and P availability in tundra may retard treeline advances, its improvement toward the forest likely promotes tree growth and forest development. ISSN:1354-1013 ISSN:1365-2486 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fetzer, Jasmin id_orcid:0 000-0002-6889-7745 Moiseev, Pavel Frossard, Emmanuel Kaiser, Klaus Mayer, Mathias Gavazov, Konstantin Hagedorn, Frank |
author_facet |
Fetzer, Jasmin id_orcid:0 000-0002-6889-7745 Moiseev, Pavel Frossard, Emmanuel Kaiser, Klaus Mayer, Mathias Gavazov, Konstantin Hagedorn, Frank |
author_sort |
Fetzer, Jasmin |
title |
Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
title_short |
Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
title_full |
Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
title_fullStr |
Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
title_sort |
plant–soil interactions alter nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in an advancing subarctic treeline |
publisher |
Wiley-Blackwell |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/664622 https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000664622 |
genre |
kola peninsula Subarctic Tundra |
genre_facet |
kola peninsula Subarctic Tundra |
op_source |
Global Change Biology, 30 (3) |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/gcb.17200 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/001178705300001 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/664622 doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000664622 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.11850/66462210.3929/ethz-b-00066462210.1111/gcb.17200 |
_version_ |
1796945984637370368 |