%0 Journal Article 
%A Jiang, M.
%A Crous, K. Y.
%A Carrillo, Y.
%A Macdonald, C.A.
%A Anderson, I.C.
%A Boer, M.M.
%A Farrell, M.
%A Gherlenda, A.N.
%A Castañeda-Gómez, L.
%A Hasegawa, S.
%A Jarosch, K.
%A Milham, P.J.
%A Ochoa Hueso, Raúl
%A Pathare, V.
%A Pihlblad, J.
%A Piñero Nevado, Juan
%A Powell, J.R.
%A Power, S.A.
%A Reich, P.B.
%A Riegler, M.
%A Zaehle, S.
%A Smith, B.
%A Medlyn, B.E.
%T Microbial competition for phosphorus limits the CO2 response of a mature forest
%D 2024
%@ 1476-4687

%U http://hdl.handle.net/10498/33479
%X The capacity for terrestrial ecosystems to sequester additional carbon (C) with rising CO2 concentrations depends on soil nutrient availability1,2. Previous evidence suggested that mature forests growing on phosphorus (P)-deprived soils had limited capacity to sequester extra biomass under elevated CO2 (refs. 3–6), but uncertainty about ecosystem P cycling and its CO2 response represents a crucial bottleneck for mechanistic prediction of the land C sink under climate change7. Here, by compiling the first comprehensive P budget for a P-limited mature forest exposed to elevated CO2, we show a high likelihood that P captured by soil microorganisms constrains ecosystem P recycling and availability for plant uptake. Trees used P efficiently, but microbial pre-emption of mineralized soil P seemed to limit the capacity of trees for increased P uptake and assimilation under elevated CO2 and, therefore, their capacity to sequester extra C. Plant strategies to stimulate microbial P cycling and plant P uptake, such as increasing rhizosphere C release to soil, will probably be necessary for P-limited forests to increase C capture into new biomass. Our results identify the key mechanisms by which P availability limits CO2 fertilization of tree growth and will guide the development of Earth system models to predict future long-term C storage.
%~ Universidad de Cádiz