Soil pH-dependent nitrogen stimulation of plant biomass: magnesium and calcium as key constraints

IF 8.3 1区生物学 Q1 PLANT SCIENCES

New Phytologist Pub Date : 2025-03-10 DOI:10.1111/nph.70058

Chonghua Xu, Xia Xu, Josep Peñuelas, Jordi Sardans, Peter Reich, Han Y. H. Chen, Yiqi Luo, Xiaoming Zou, Wei Fan, Chenghui Ju, Mingyan Lin, Jun Cui, Wenfang Liu, Xiaochou Chen, Jingjing Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition can alleviate N limitation and stimulate plant growth in many terrestrial ecosystems. While theoretical models often emphasize phosphorus limitations as a constraint on this positive N effect, the impact of N-induced magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) deficits due to soil acidification has been largely overlooked.
Here, we synthesized data from 243 experiments across diverse terrestrial ecosystems to investigate the role of Mg and Ca in plant biomass responses to N addition.
We found that the effect of N addition on aboveground biomass (AGB) shifted from neutral in low pH (≤ 4.5) to positive in medium (4.5–7.5) and high pH (> 7.5) soils. By contrast, belowground biomass (BGB) responses to N addition were independent of soil pH, leading to asymmetric increases in AGB and BGB. These variations in biomass accumulation across pH levels were primarily explained by changes in foliar Mg and Ca concentrations, which were negatively affected by N addition in low-pH soils but remained stable in medium and high-pH soils.
Our findings underscore the critical role of Mg and Ca in modulating plant responses to N fertilization, providing new insights for improving Earth system models and better predicting climate–biosphere feedback.

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来源期刊

New Phytologist 生物-植物科学

自引率

5.30%

发文量

728

期刊介绍： New Phytologist is an international electronic journal published 24 times a year. It is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a non-profit-making charitable organization dedicated to promoting plant science. The journal publishes excellent, novel, rigorous, and timely research and scholarship in plant science and its applications. The articles cover topics in five sections: Physiology & Development, Environment, Interaction, Evolution, and Transformative Plant Biotechnology. These sections encompass intracellular processes, global environmental change, and encourage cross-disciplinary approaches. The journal recognizes the use of techniques from molecular and cell biology, functional genomics, modeling, and system-based approaches in plant science. Abstracting and Indexing Information for New Phytologist includes Academic Search, AgBiotech News & Information, Agroforestry Abstracts, Biochemistry & Biophysics Citation Index, Botanical Pesticides, CAB Abstracts®, Environment Index, Global Health, and Plant Breeding Abstracts, and others.