Effects of nitrogen deposition on the carbon budget and water stress in Central Asia under climate change

Abstract

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) plays a significant role in shaping the structure and functioning of various terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. However, the magnitude of N deposition on grassland ecosystems in Central Asia still remains highly uncertain. In this study, a multi-data approach was adopted to analyze the distribution and amplitude of N deposition effects in Central Asia from 1979 to 2014 using a process-based denitrification decomposition (DNDC) model. Results showed that total vegetation carbon (C) in Central Asia was 0.35 (±0.09) Pg C/a and the averaged water stress index (WSI) was 0.20 (±0.02) for the whole area. Increasing N deposition led to an increase in the vegetation C of 65.56 (±83.03) Tg C and slightly decreased water stress in Central Asia. Findings of this study will expand both our understanding and predictive capacity of C characteristics under future increases in N deposition, and also serve as a valuable reference for decision-making regarding water resources management and climate change mitigation in arid and semi-arid areas globally.