Experimental nitrogen fertilisation globally accelerates, then slows decomposition of leaf litter.

Plant litter decomposition is a central process in the carbon (C) cycle and sensitive to ongoing anthropogenic nitrogen (N) fertilisation. Previous syntheses evaluating the effect of N fertilisation on litter decomposition relied largely on models that define a constant rate of mass loss throughout decomposition, which may mask hypothesised shifts in the effect of N fertilisation on litter decomposition dynamics. In this meta-analysis, we compared the performance of four empirical decomposition models and showed that N fertilisation consistently accelerates early-stage but slows late-stage decomposition when the model structure allows for flexibility in decomposition rates through time. Within a particular substrate, early-stage N-stimulation of decomposition was associated with reduced rates of late-stage decay. Because the products of early- vs. late-stage decomposition are stabilised in soils through distinct chemical and physical mechanisms, N-induced changes in the litter decomposition process may influence the formation and cycling of soil C, the largest terrestrial C pool.

Deep peat warming increases surface methane and carbon dioxide emissions in a black spruce-dominated ombrotrophic bog.

Boreal peatlands contain approximately 500 Pg carbon (C) in the soil, emit globally significant quantities of methane (CH4 ), and are highly sensitive to climate change. Warming associated with global climate change is likely to increase the rate of the temperature-sensitive processes that decompose stored organic carbon and release carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and CH4 . Variation in the temperature sensitivity of CO2 and CH4 production and increased peat aerobicity due to enhanced growing-season evapotranspiration may alter the nature of peatland trace gas emission. As CH4 is a powerful greenhouse gas with 34 times the warming potential of CO2 , it is critical to understand how factors associated with global change will influence surface CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Here, we leverage the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) climate change manipulation experiment to understand the impact of a 0-9°C gradient in deep belowground warming ("Deep Peat Heat", DPH) on peat surface CO2 and CH4 fluxes. We find that DPH treatments increased both CO2 and CH4 emission. Methane production was more sensitive to warming than CO2 production, decreasing the C-CO2 :C-CH4 of the respired carbon. Methane production is dominated by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis but deep peat warming increased the δ13 C of CH4 suggesting an increasing contribution of acetoclastic methanogenesis to total CH4 production with warming. Although the total quantity of C emitted from the SPRUCE Bog as CH4 is <2%, CH4 represents >50% of seasonal C emissions in the highest-warming treatments when adjusted for CO2 equivalents on a 100-year timescale. These results suggest that warming in boreal regions may increase CH4 emissions from peatlands and result in a positive feedback to ongoing warming.

Belowground carbon flux links biogeochemical cycles and resource-use efficiency at the global scale.

Nutrient limitation is pervasive in the terrestrial biosphere, although the relationship between global carbon (C) nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles remains uncertain. Using meta-analysis we show that gross primary production (GPP) partitioning belowground is inversely related to soil-available N : P, increasing with latitude from tropical to boreal forests. N-use efficiency is highest in boreal forests, and P-use efficiency in tropical forests. High C partitioning belowground in boreal forests reflects a 13-fold greater C cost of N acquisition compared to the tropics. By contrast, the C cost of P acquisition varies only 2-fold among biomes. This analysis suggests a new hypothesis that the primary limitation on productivity in forested ecosystems transitions from belowground resources at high latitudes to aboveground resources at low latitudes as C-intensive root- and mycorrhizal-mediated nutrient capture is progressively replaced by rapidly cycling, enzyme-derived nutrient fluxes when temperatures approach the thermal optimum for biogeochemical transformations.

Changes in autumn senescence in northern hemisphere deciduous trees: a meta-analysis of autumn phenology studies.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Many individual studies have shown that the timing of leaf senescence in boreal and temperate deciduous forests in the northern hemisphere is influenced by rising temperatures, but there is limited consensus on the magnitude, direction and spatial extent of this relationship. METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted of published studies from the peer-reviewed literature that reported autumn senescence dates for deciduous trees in the northern hemisphere, encompassing 64 publications with observations ranging from 1931 to 2010. KEY RESULTS: Among the meteorological measurements examined, October temperatures were the strongest predictors of date of senescence, followed by cooling degree-days, latitude, photoperiod and, lastly, total monthly precipitation, although the strength of the relationships differed between high- and low-latitude sites. Autumn leaf senescence has been significantly more delayed at low (25° to 49°N) than high (50° to 70°N) latitudes across the northern hemisphere, with senescence across high-latitude sites more sensitive to the effects of photoperiod and low-latitude sites more sensitive to the effects of temperature. Delays in leaf senescence over time were stronger in North America compared with Europe and Asia. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that leaf senescence has been delayed over time and in response to temperature, although low-latitude sites show significantly stronger delays in senescence over time than high-latitude sites. While temperature alone may be a reasonable predictor of the date of leaf senescence when examining a broad suite of sites, it is important to consider that temperature-induced changes in senescence at high-latitude sites are likely to be constrained by the influence of photoperiod. Ecosystem-level differences in the mechanisms that control the timing of leaf senescence may affect both plant community interactions and ecosystem carbon storage as global temperatures increase over the next century.