Forest trees growing in air containing higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) radically change the way they ‘cycle’ nitrogen, a key plant nutrient, with implications for forests as a nature-based climate solution.
Forest trees growing in air containing higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) radically change the way they ‘cycle’ nitrogen, a key plant nutrient, with implications for forests as a nature-based climate solution.
In a new study in Science Advances, researchers at the University of Birmingham’s world leading Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (BIFoR FACE) facility in Staffordshire, UK examine how a ~180-year-old oak woodland responded after six years of exposure to the CO₂ levels expected by the 2050s and beyond.
They found that key processes managing nitrogen in the forest increased significantly under the increased CO2 conditions. Nitrogen is a critical nutrient for living things, including trees, and while elevated CO2 levels lead to a ‘carbon fertilisation’ effect, previous studies have not unpacked the way trees and their microbial partners manage nitrogen in such future scenarios.
Read more at: University of Birmingham
Photo Credit: shogun via Pixabay
