Leaf economic strategies drive global variation in phosphorus stimulation of terrestrial plant production

  • Nan Yang
  • , Constantin M. Zohner
  • , Thomas W. Crowther
  • , Jiguang Feng
  • , Jin Wu
  • , Xinli Chen
  • , Wenxuan Han
  • , Benjamin D. Stocker
  • , Dafeng Hui
  • , Laurent Augusto
  • , Kai Yue
  • , Enqing Hou
  • , Mingkai Jiang
  • , Huili Feng
  • , Zixin Chen
  • , Wenjuan Wu
  • , Aijun Xing
  • , Chengrong Chen
  • , Jordi Sardans
  • , Yiqi Luo
  • Josep Penuelas, Hans Lambers, Jingyun Fang, Zhengbing Yan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Plant biomass and its allocation are fundamental for understanding biospheric matter production. However, the impacts of atmospheric phosphorus (P) deposition on species-specific biomass and its allocation in global terrestrial plants remain unclear. By synthesizing 5548 observations of plant biomass and its allocation related to P addition worldwide, we find that P addition increases plant biomass by an average of 35% globally. This increase varies across plant functional groups, with stronger responses in deciduous (45%), C3 (36%), and N2-fixing plants (54%) than in evergreen (28%), C4 (19%), and non-N2-fixing plants (31%), respectively. Plants possessing traits indicative of an acquisitive strategy, such as higher nutrient concentrations and specific leaf area, faster photosynthetic rates and shorter leaf lifespan, are particularly responsive to P addition. Furthermore, P addition promotes a greater allocation of biomass to aboveground than belowground organs, resulting in a 5% decrease in root-to-shoot ratio. Our findings provide global-scale quantifications of how P addition regulates biomass accumulation and allocation strategies in terrestrial plants, offering critical insights for predicting the response of terrestrial carbon storage to rising atmospheric P deposition.
Original languageEnglish
Article number5562
Number of pages13
JournalNature Communications
Volume16
Issue number1
Early online date1 Jul 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2025

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