Using a meta-analysis of observations from nitrogen addition experiments, and by conducting an experiment in which nitrogen was added to a lowland forest in China's Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve between 2003 and 2014, researchers found that excess nitrogen deposition increased soil carbon and nitrogen concentrations in nitrogen-rich tropical forests; long-term addition of nitrogen accelerated soil acidification and increased physical protection, and although tropical forest soil may be a sink for carbon dioxide, this sink cannot compensate for anthropogenic carbon emissions, according to the authors.
Article #20-20790: "Nitrogen deposition accelerates soil carbon sequestration in tropical forests," by Xiankai Lu et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Peter M. Vitousek, Stanford University, CA; tel: 650-725-1866; email: < vitousek@stanford.edu >; Xiankai Lu, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, CHINA; tel: +86-13760021552; email: luxiankai@scbg.ac.cn
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences