Isotopic evidence for oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems

Joseph M Craine¹, Andrew J Elmore², Lixin Wang³, Julieta Aranibar⁴, Marijn Bauters^{5

6}, Pascal Boeckx⁵, Brooke E Crowley^{7

8}, Melissa A Dawes⁹, Sylvain Delzon¹⁰, Alex Fajardo¹¹, Yunting Fang¹², Lei Fujiyoshi¹³, Alan Gray¹⁴, Rossella Guerrieri¹⁵, Michael J Gundale¹⁶, David J Hawke¹⁷, Peter Hietz¹⁸, Mathieu Jonard¹⁹, Elizabeth Kearsley²⁰, Tanaka Kenzo²¹, Mikhail Makarov²², Sara Marañón-Jiménez^{23

24

25}, Terrence P McGlynn^{26

27}, Brenden E McNeil²⁸, Stella G Mosher⁷, David M Nelson², Pablo L Peri²⁹, Jean Christophe Roggy³⁰, Rebecca Sanders-DeMott^{31

32}, Minghua Song³³, Paul Szpak³⁴, Pamela H Templer³¹, Dewidine Van der Colff³⁵, Christiane Werner³⁶, Xingliang Xu³², Yang Yang³⁷, Guirui Yu^{33

38}, Katarzyna Zmudczyńska-Skarbek³⁹

Affiliations

¹ Jonah Ventures, Boulder, CO, USA. josephmcraine@gmail.com.
² Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD, USA.
³ Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
⁴ Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (FCEN-UNCuyo), Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA-CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina.
⁵ MB Isotope Bioscience Laboratory - ISOFYS, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁶ CAVElab, Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ Department of Geology , University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁸ Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁹ Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research - WSL Forest soils and Biogeochemistry, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
¹⁰ BIOGECO, INRA University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
¹¹ Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia, Coyhaique, Chile.
¹² CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
¹³ Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
¹⁴ NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Penicuik, UK.
¹⁵ Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁶ Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
¹⁷ Department of Science and Primary Industries, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
¹⁸ Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁹ Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
²⁰ Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
²¹ Department of Plant Ecology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan.
²² Soil Science Department, Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University, Moscow, Russia.
²³ Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
²⁴ CREAF, Barcelona, Spain.
²⁵ CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona, Spain.
²⁶ Department of Biology, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA, USA.
²⁷ Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
²⁸ Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
²⁹ Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, CONICET Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral, Río Gallegos, Argentina.
³⁰ INRA, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane, Campus Agronomique, Kourou, Guyane Française, France.
³¹ Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
³² Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
³³ Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³⁴ Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
³⁵ South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, South Africa.
³⁶ Ecosystem Physiology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
³⁷ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
³⁸ College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³⁹ Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.

PMID: 30349095
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0694-0

Free article

Isotopic evidence for oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems

Joseph M Craine et al. Nat Ecol Evol. 2018 Nov.

Free article

. 2018 Nov;2(11):1735-1744.

doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0694-0. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Jonah Ventures, Boulder, CO, USA. josephmcraine@gmail.com.
² Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD, USA.
³ Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
⁴ Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (FCEN-UNCuyo), Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA-CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina.
⁵ MB Isotope Bioscience Laboratory - ISOFYS, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁶ CAVElab, Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ Department of Geology , University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁸ Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁹ Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research - WSL Forest soils and Biogeochemistry, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
¹⁰ BIOGECO, INRA University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
¹¹ Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia, Coyhaique, Chile.
¹² CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
¹³ Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
¹⁴ NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Penicuik, UK.
¹⁵ Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁶ Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
¹⁷ Department of Science and Primary Industries, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
¹⁸ Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁹ Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
²⁰ Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
²¹ Department of Plant Ecology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan.
²² Soil Science Department, Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University, Moscow, Russia.
²³ Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
²⁴ CREAF, Barcelona, Spain.
²⁵ CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona, Spain.
²⁶ Department of Biology, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA, USA.
²⁷ Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
²⁸ Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
²⁹ Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, CONICET Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral, Río Gallegos, Argentina.
³⁰ INRA, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane, Campus Agronomique, Kourou, Guyane Française, France.
³¹ Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
³² Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
³³ Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³⁴ Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
³⁵ South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, South Africa.
³⁶ Ecosystem Physiology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
³⁷ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
³⁸ College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³⁹ Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.

PMID: 30349095
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0694-0

Abstract

Human societies depend on an Earth system that operates within a constrained range of nutrient availability, yet the recent trajectory of terrestrial nitrogen (N) availability is uncertain. Examining patterns of foliar N concentrations and isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N) from more than 43,000 samples acquired over 37 years, here we show that foliar N concentration declined by 9% and foliar δ¹⁵N declined by 0.6-1.6‰. Examining patterns across different climate spaces, foliar δ¹⁵N declined across the entire range of mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation tested. These results suggest declines in N supply relative to plant demand at the global scale. In all, there are now multiple lines of evidence of declining N availability in many unfertilized terrestrial ecosystems, including declines in δ¹⁵N of tree rings and leaves from herbarium samples over the past 75-150 years. These patterns are consistent with the proposed consequences of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and longer growing seasons. These declines will limit future terrestrial carbon uptake and increase nutritional stress for herbivores.

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Comment in

Data do not support large-scale oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems.
Hiltbrunner E, Körner C, Meier R, Braun S, Kahmen A. Hiltbrunner E, et al. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019 Sep;3(9):1285-1286. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-0948-5. Epub 2019 Jul 22. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019. PMID: 31332331 No abstract available.
Reply to: Data do not support large-scale oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems.
Craine JM, Elmore AJ, Wang L, Boeckx P, Delzon S, Fang Y, Gray A, Guerrieri R, Gundale MJ, Hietz P, Nelson DM, Peri PL, Templer PH, Werner C. Craine JM, et al. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019 Sep;3(9):1287-1288. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-0949-4. Epub 2019 Jul 22. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019. PMID: 31332332 No abstract available.

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Isotopic evidence for oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems

Affiliations

Isotopic evidence for oligotrophication of terrestrial ecosystems

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Affiliations

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