Modeling Plant Nutrient Acquisition Strategies Alters Projections of Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Bioenergy Agroecosystems

Juice, Stephanie M.; Hartman, Melannie D.; von Haden, Adam C.; Parton, William J.; Brzostek, Edward R.

doi:10.1111/gcbb.70042

Modeling Plant Nutrient Acquisition Strategies Alters Projections of Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Bioenergy Agroecosystems

Journal Article · Mon May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70042· OSTI ID:2564653

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West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (United States); University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO (United States)
University of Wisconsin‐Madison, WI (United States)

Plant strategies to acquire nutrients from limited environments help shape ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and response to environmental change. The effects of plant strategies on ecosystem dynamics are largely uncharacterized in bioenergy agroecosystems, where the impacts could determine bioenergy's ability to meet its sustainability goals of storing C and reducing N loss. We used FUN-BioCROP (Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen-Bioenergy Carbon, Rhizosphere, Organisms and Protection), a plant–microbe interaction model of coupled plant nutrient uptake and soil organic matter decomposition, to simulate the effects of nutrient acquisition strategies on soil microbial activity and ecosystem nutrient cycling in bioenergy feedstocks miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). We examined the model's ability to reproduce the relative effects of belowground nutrient uptake on microbial activity using a reanalysis of empirical data showing that miscanthus root exudation provoked a larger soil microbial response than sorghum. From baseline model simulations, we found that the ability of miscanthus to retranslocate N resulted in higher N uptake at a lower C cost than the sorghum/soybean rotation and that soil C and N pools increased under perennial (miscanthus) and decreased under annual (sorghum/soybean) cultivation. The model also predicted that greater root exudation increased soil C accumulation, highlighting the role of roots in forming stable soil C. Overall, the baseline model was unable to reproduce field observations of miscanthus root exudation stimulating microbial activity more than sorghum. To improve the model, we updated the soil microbial parameters in miscanthus to have faster decomposition, a higher C/N ratio, and greater carbon use efficiency. These changes improved the simulated soil microbial response to miscanthus root exudation, supporting the hypothesis that miscanthus soils foster a microbial community that is more responsive to root exudation than that of sorghum.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), Urbana, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018420

OSTI ID:: 2564653

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, Journal Name: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 17; ISSN 1757-1693

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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