Journal
NEW PHYTOLOGIST
Volume 217, Issue 3, Pages 1050-1061Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/nph.14905
Keywords
climate; climate change; molybdenum (Mo); nitrogen (N) fixation; nutrient limitation; phosphorus (P)
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Funding
- NSF [DGE-1148897]
- Directorate For Geosciences [1411368] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Environmental Biology [1150246] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Nitrogen (N) fixation by free-living bacteria is a primary N input pathway in many ecosystems and sustains global plant productivity. Uncertainty exists over the importance of N, phosphorus (P) and molybdenum (Mo) availability in controlling free-living N fixation rates. Here, we investigate the geographic occurrence and variability of nutrient constraints to free-living N fixation in the terrestrial biosphere. We compiled data from studies measuring free-living N fixation in response to N, P and Mo fertilizers. We used meta-analysis to quantitatively determine the extent to which N, P and Mo stimulate or suppress N fixation, and if environmental variables influence the degree of nutrient limitation of N fixation. Across our compiled dataset, free-living N fixation is suppressed by N fertilization and stimulated by Mo fertilization. Additionally, free-living N fixation is stimulated by P additions in tropical forests. These findings suggest that nutrient limitation is an intrinsic property of the biochemical demands of N fixation, constraining free-living N fixation in the terrestrial biosphere. These findings have implications for understanding the causes and consequences of N limitation in coupled nutrient cycles, as well as modeling and forecasting nutrient controls over carbon-climate feedbacks.
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