Mycorrhizal Distributions Impact Global Patterns of Carbon and Nutrient Cycling

Braghiere, Renato K.; Fisher, Josh B.; Fisher, Rosie A.; Shi, Mingjie; Steidinger, B. S.; Sulman, Benjamin N.; Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A.; Yang, Xiaojuan; Liang, J.; Peay, Kabir G.; Crowther, T. W.; Phillips, Richard P.

doi:10.1029/2021gl094514

Title: Mycorrhizal Distributions Impact Global Patterns of Carbon and Nutrient Cycling

Journal Article · 16 September 2021 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl094514 · OSTI ID:1824944

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California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Univ. Paul Sabatier, Toulouse (France)
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands); Hasselt Univ. (Belgium)
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Beijing Forestry Univ. (China)
ETH Zürich (Switzerland)
Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)

Most tree species predominantly associate with a single type of mycorrhizal fungi, which can differentially affect plant nutrient acquisition and biogeochemical cycling. Uncertainties in mycorrhizal distributions are non-trivial, and current estimates disagree in up to 50% over 40% of the land area, including tropical forests. Remote sensing capabilities for mycorrhizal detection show promise for refining these estimates further. Here, we address for the first time the impact of mycorrhizal distributions on global carbon and nutrient cycling. Using the state-of-the-art carbon-nitrogen economics within the Community Land Model version 5, we found Net Primary Productivity (NPP) increased throughout the 21st century by 20%; however, as soil nitrogen has progressively become limiting, the costs to NPP for nitrogen acquisition—that is, to mycorrhizae—have increased at a faster rate by 60%. This suggests that nutrient acquisition will increasingly demand a higher portion of assimilated carbon to support the same productivity.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

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

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1824944

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--165538

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 48; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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