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In this Brief Communications Arising Reply, the affiliation for author P. H. Templer was incorrectly listed as 'Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA' instead of 'Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA'. This has been corrected online.

The majority of the Earth's terrestrial carbon is stored in the soil. If anthropogenic warming stimulates the loss of this carbon to the atmosphere, it could drive further planetary warming. Despite evidence that warming enhances carbon fluxes to and from the soil, the net global balance between these responses remains uncertain. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of warming-induced changes in soil carbon stocks by assembling data from 49 field experiments located across North America, Europe and Asia. We find that the effects of warming are contingent on the size of the initial soil carbon stock, with considerable losses occurring in high-latitude areas. By extrapolating this empirical relationship to the global scale, we provide estimates of soil carbon sensitivity to warming that may help to constrain Earth system model projections. Our empirical relationship suggests that global soil carbon stocks in the upper soil horizons will fall by 30 ± 30 petagrams of carbon to 203 ± 161 petagrams of carbon under one degree of warming, depending on the rate at which the effects of warming are realized. Under the conservative assumption that the response of soil carbon to warming occurs within a year, a business-as-usual climate scenario would drive the loss of 55 ± 50 petagrams of carbon from the upper soil horizons by 2050. This value is around 12-17 per cent of the expected anthropogenic emissions over this period. Despite the considerable uncertainty in our estimates, the direction of the global soil carbon response is consistent across all scenarios. This provides strong empirical support for the idea that rising temperatures will stimulate the net loss of soil carbon to the atmosphere, driving a positive land carbon-climate feedback that could accelerate climate change.

Iron oxides affect the stability of soil organic matter (SOM), which in turn affects greenhouse gas emissions in paddy soils. They also regulate the direction and magnitude of the rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) by restricting SOM accessibility and microbial activity. However, the controlling steps and key factors that regulate the RPE magnitude under anoxic conditions are unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms through which Fe(III) reduction affects the RPE using humic acid as an electron shuttle in paddy soils and conducting continuous 13 CO 2 labeling of rice plants. The RPE, measured via CO 2 emission, was approximately 25 % greater in soils with humic acid than in soils without. A rapid increase in the RPE of CH 4 emissions after 41 days was attenuated in soils containing humic acid. Root growth and Fe(III) reduction stimulated the total primed CO 2 emissions from the rhizosphere independent of the microbial biomass and enzyme activities. Humic acid accelerated Fe(III) reduction, leading to a decrease in Fe-bound organic carbon and an increase in RPE (CO 2 emissions). The rhizosphere-primed CO 2 emissions decreased with increasing amounts of reactive Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides, which protected the SOM from microbial and enzymatic attacks. Biochemical Fe(III) reduction and physical aggregate destruction controlled the abiotic transformation of inaccessible SOM into bioavailable organic carbon, thereby regulating the RPE. The results suggest that the reduction of reactive Fe(III) minerals is the rate-limiting step in the release of the physicochemically protected SOM, which in turn determines the magnitude of rhizosphere priming in paddy soils., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Root nitrogen (N) reallocation involves remobilization of root N-storage pools to support shoot growth. Representing a critical yet underexplored facet of plant function, we developed innovative frameworks to elucidate its connections with key ecosystem components. First, root N reallocation increases with plant species richness and N-acquisition strategies, driven by competitive stimulation of plant N demand and synergies in N uptake. Second, competitive root traits and mycorrhizal symbioses, which enhance N foraging and uptake, exhibit trade-offs with root N reallocation. Furthermore, root N reallocation is attenuated by N-supply attributes such as increasing litter quality, soil fungi-to-bacteria ratios, and microbial recruitment in the hyphosphere/rhizosphere. These frameworks provide new insights and research avenues for understanding the ecological roles of root N reallocation., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The ability to identify residual tumor tissues in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is essential for monitoring the treatment response. Using the fluorescent tracer bevacizumab-800CW, we evaluated whether ultrasound-guided quantitative fluorescent molecular endoscopy (US-qFME), which combines quantitative fluorescence molecular endoscopy (qFME) with ultrasound-guided needle biopsy/single-fiber fluorescence (USNB/SFF), can be used to identify residual tumor tissues in patients following nCRT., Experimental Design: Twenty patients received an additional endoscopy procedure the day before surgery. qFME was performed at the primary tumor site (PTS) and in healthy tissue to first establish the optimal tracer dose. USNB/SFF was then used to measure intrinsic fluorescence in the deeper PTS layers and lymph nodes (LN) suspected for metastasis. Finally, the intrinsic fluorescence and the tissue optical properties-specifically, the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients-were combined into a new parameter called omega., Results: First, a 25-mg bevacizumab-800CW dose allowed for clear differentiation between the PTS and healthy tissue, with a target-to-background ratio (TBR) of 2.98 (IQR, 1.86-3.03). Moreover, we found a clear difference between the deeper esophageal PTS layers and suspected LN compared to healthy tissues, with TBR values of 2.18 and 2.17, respectively. Finally, our new parameter, omega, further improved the ability to differentiate between the PTS and healthy tissue., Conclusions: Combining bevacizumab-800CW with US-qFME may serve as a viable strategy for monitoring the response to nCRT in esophageal cancer and may help stratify patients regarding active surveillance versus surgery., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Grassland plants allocate photosynthetically fixed carbon (C) belowground to root biomass and rhizodeposition, but also to support arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). These C allocation pathways could increase nutrient scavenging, but also mining of nutrients through enhanced organic matter decomposition. While important for grassland ecosystem functioning, methodological constraints have limited our ability to measure these processes under field conditions. We used 13 CO 2 and 15 N pulse labelling methods to examine belowground C allocation to root biomass production, rhizodeposition and AMF colonisation during peak plant growth in a grassland field experiment after three years of N fertilisation (0 and 40 kg N ha -1 year -1 ) and defoliation frequency treatments ("low" and "high", with 3-4 and 6-8 simulated grazing events per year, mimicking moderate and intense grazing, respectively). Moreover, we quantified the consequences for plant nitrogen (N) uptake and decomposition of soil organic C (SOC). Nitrogen fertilisation increased rhizodeposition and AMF colonisation (by 63 % and 54 %), but reduced root biomass (by 25 %). With high defoliation frequency, AMF colonisation increased (by 60 %), but both root biomass and rhizodeposition declined (by 35 % and 58 %). Plant N uptake was highest without N fertilisation and low defoliation frequency, and positively related to root biomass and the number of root tips. Therefore, when N supply is low and the capacity to produce C through photosynthesis is high, belowground C allocation to root production and associated root tips was important to scavenge for N in the soil. In contrast, the strong positive relationship between the rate of rhizodeposition and SOC decomposition, suggests that rhizodeposition may help plants to mine for nutrients locked in SOC. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that belowground C allocation pathways affected by N fertilisation and defoliation frequency affect plant N scavenging and mining with important consequences for long-term grassland C dynamics., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Crown Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The interactions of plastics and soil organisms are complex and inconsistent observations on the effects of plastics on soil organisms have been made in published studies. In this study, we assessed the effects of plastic exposure on plants, fauna and microbial communities, with a meta-analysis. Using a total of 2936 observations from 140 publications, we analysed how responses in plants, soil fauna and microorganisms depended on the plastic concentration, size, type, species and exposure media. We found that overall plastics caused substantial detrimental effects to plants and fauna, but less so to microbial diversity and richness. Plastic concentration was one of the most important factors explaining variations in plant and faunal responses. Larger plastics (>1 μm) caused unfavourable changes to plant growth, germination and oxidative stress, while nanoplastics (NPs; ≤ 1 μm) only increased oxidative stress. On the contrary, there was a clear trend showing that small plastics adversely affected fauna reproduction, survival and locomotion than large plastics. Plant responses were indifferent to plastic type, with most studies conducted using polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) plastics, but soil fauna were frequently more sensitive to PS than to PE exposure. Plant species played a vital role in some parameters, with the effects of plastics being considerably greater on vegetable plants than on cereal plants., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Photosynthetically derived carbon (C) is allocated belowground, allowing plants to obtain nutrients. However, less is known about the amount of nutrients acquired relative to the C allocated belowground, which is referred to as C efficiency for nutrient acquisition (CENA). Here, we examined how C efficiency for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) acquisition varied between ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ) and clover ( Trifolium repens ) with and without P fertilization. A continuous 13 C-labeling method was applied to track belowground C allocation. Both species allocated nearly half of belowground C to rhizosphere respiration (49%), followed by root biomass (37%), and rhizodeposition (14%). With regard to N and P, CENA was higher for clover than for ryegrass, which remained higher after accounting for relatively low C costs associated with biological N 2 fixation. Phosphorus fertilization increased the C efficiency for P acquisition but decreased the C efficiency for N acquisition. A higher CENA for N and P in clover may be attributed to the greater rhizosphere priming on soil organic matter decomposition. Increased P availability with P fertilization could induce lower C allocation for P uptake but exacerbate soil N limitation, thereby making N uptake less C efficient. Overall, our study revealed that species-specific belowground C allocation and nutrient uptake efficiency depend on which nutrient is limited., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lu, Yang, Keitel, Yin, Wang, Cheng and Dijkstra.)

Phosphorus (P) limitation is expected to increase due to nitrogen (N)-induced terrestrial eutrophication, although most soils contain large P pools immobilized in minerals (P i ) and organic matter (P o ). Here we assessed whether transformations of these P pools could increase plant available pools alleviating P limitation under enhanced N availability. The mechanisms underlying these possible transformations were explored by combining results from a 10-year field N addition experiment and a 3700-km transect covering wide ranges in soil pH, soil N, aridity, leaching, and weathering that could affect soil P status in grasslands. Nitrogen addition promoted the dissolution of immobile P i (mainly Ca-bound recalcitrant P) to more available forms of P i (including Al- and Fe-bound P fractions and Olsen P) by decreasing soil pH from 7.6 to 4.7, but did not affect P o . Soil total P declined by 10% from 385 ± 6.8 to 346 ± 9.5 mg kg -1 , whereas available P increased by 546% from 3.5 ± 0.3 to 22.6 ± 2.4 mg kg -1 after the 10-year N addition, associated with an increase in P i mobilization, plant uptake, and leaching. Similar to the N addition experiment, the drop in soil pH from 7.5 to 5.6 and increase in soil N concentration along the grassland transect were associated with an increased ratio between relatively mobile P i and immobile P i . Our results provide a new mechanistic understanding of the important role of soil P i mobilization in maintaining plant P supply and accelerating biogeochemical P cycles under anthropogenic N enrichment. This mobilization process temporarily buffers ecosystem P limitation or even causes P eutrophication, but will extensively deplete soil P pools in the long run., (© 2021 The Ecological Society of America.)

Nitrogen (N) fertilization and plastic film mulching (PFM) are two widely applied management practices for crop production. Both of them impact soil organic matter individually, but their interactive effects as well as the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Soils from a 28-year field experiment with maize monoculture under three levels of N fertilization (0, 135, and 270 kg N ha -1  yr -1 ) and with or without PFM were analyzed for soil organic C (SOC) content, total soil nitrogen (N), root biomass, enzyme activities, and SOC mineralization rates. After 28 years, N fertilization increased root biomass and consequently, SOC by 26% (averaged across the two fertilizer application rates) and total soil N by 25%. These increases, however, were only in soil with PFM, as PFM reduced N leaching and loss, as a result of a diurnal internal water cycle under the mulch. The SOC mineralization was slower with N fertilization, regardless of the PFM treatment. This trend was attributed to the 43% decrease of β-glucosidase activity (C cycle enzyme) and 51% drop of leucine aminopeptidase (N cycle) with N fertilization, as a result of a strong decrease in soil pH. In conclusion, root biomass acting as the main source of soil C, resulted in an increase of soil organic matter after 28 year of N fertilization only with PFM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

From recent developments on how roots affect soil organic carbon (SOC) an apparent paradox has emerged where roots drive SOC stabilization causing SOC accrual, but also SOC destabilization causing SOC loss. We synthesize current results and propose the new Rhizo-Engine framework consisting of two linked components: microbial turnover and the soil physicochemical matrix. The Rhizo-Engine is driven by rhizodeposition, root turnover, and plant uptake of nutrients and water, thereby accelerating SOC turnover through both stabilization and destabilization mechanisms. This Rhizo-Engine framework emphasizes the need for a more holistic approach to study root-driven SOC dynamics. This framework would provide better understanding of plant root effects on soil carbon sequestration and the sensitivity of SOC stocks to climate and land-use changes., (© 2020 The Authors New Phytologist © 2020 New Phytologist Trust.)

Rhizodeposition plays an important role in below-ground carbon (C) cycling. However, quantification of rhizodeposition in intact plant-soil systems has remained elusive due to methodological issues. We used a 13 C-CO 2 pulse-labelling method to quantify the contribution of rhizodeposition to below-ground respiration. Intact plant-soil cores were taken from a grassland field, and in half, shoots and roots were removed (unplanted cores). Both unplanted and planted cores were assigned to drought and nitrogen (N) treatments. Afterwards, shoots in planted cores were pulse labelled with 13 C-CO 2 and then clipped to determine total below-ground respiration and its δ 13 C. Simultaneously, δ 13 C was measured for the respiration of live roots, soils with rhizodeposits, and unplanted treatments, and used as endmembers with which to determine root respiration and rhizodeposit C decomposition using two-source mixing models. Rhizodeposit decomposition accounted for 7-31% of total below-ground respiration. Drought reduced decomposition of both rhizodeposits and soil organic carbon (SOC), while N addition increased root respiration but not the contribution of rhizodeposit C decomposition to below-ground respiration. This study provides a new approach for the partitioning of below-ground respiration into different sources, and indicates that decomposition of rhizodeposit C is an important component of below-ground respiration that is sensitive to drought and N addition in grassland ecosystems., (© 2020 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2020 New Phytologist Foundation.)

Availability of phosphorus (P) can directly and/or indirectly affect nitrogen (N) retention and loss from soil by stimulating microbial and plant root activities. However, it is not clear how P availability and plant presence interact on nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission and nitrate (NO 3 - ) leaching in soil. A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of P addition (0, 10 and 20 mg P kg -1 ) with and without plant presence (Phalaris aquatica, C3 grass) on N 2 O emission, NO 3 - leaching and 15 N recovery. Our results showed large variation in N 2 O emission with significant increases after leaching events. We observed that initially low but later (after 53 days of sowing) high levels of P addition increased N 2 O emission rates, possibly by stimulating nitrifiers and/or denitrifiers in soil. Plant presence decreased N 2 O emission at times when plants reduced water and NO 3 - in the soil, but increased N 2 O emission at times when both water and NO 3 - in the soil were abundant, and where plants may have stimulated denitrification through supply of labile organic C. Furthermore, an increase in net N mineralization, possibly due to increased decomposition stimulated by root derived C, may also have contributed to the higher cumulative N 2 O emission with plant presence. P addition increased 15 N recovery in soil, but reduced it in leachates, suggesting increased 15 N fixation in microbial biomass. Our results showed that both P addition and plant presence stimulated N loss as N 2 O, but also increased N retention in the soil-plant system and thus reduced N loss through leaching., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Soil microbial processes are crucial for understanding the ecological functions of arid and semi-arid lands which occupy approximately 40% of the global terrestrial ecosystems. However, how soil microbial metabolic activities may change across a wide aridity gradient in drylands remains unclear. Here, we investigated three soil microbial metabolic indices (soil organic carbon (SOC)-based microbial respiration, metabolic quotient, and microbial biomass as a proportion of total SOC) and the degree of carbon limitation for microbial respiration along a 3,200 km transect with a wide aridity gradient. The aridity gradient was customarily expressed using the aridity index (AI) which was calculated as the ratio of mean annual precipitation to mean annual evaporation, therefore, a lower AI value indicated a higher degree of aridity. Our results showed non-linear relationships between AI values and the metabolic indices with a clear aridity threshold for each of the three metabolic indices along the aridity gradient, respectively (AI = 0.13 for basal respiration, AI = 0.17 for metabolic quotient, and AI = 0.17 for MBC:SOC ratio). These metabolic indices linearly declined when AI was above the thresholds, but did not show any clear patterns when AI was below the thresholds. We also found that soil microbial respiration was highly limited by available carbon substrates at locations with higher primary production and relatively lower level of water limitation when AI was above the threshold, a counter-intuitive pattern that microbes were more starved in ecosystems with more substrate input. However, the increasing level of carbon limitation did correspond to the declining trend of the three metabolic indices along the AI gradient, which indicates that the carbon limitation influences microbial metabolism. We also found that the ratio of microbial biomass carbon to SOC in arid regions (AI < 0.2) with extremely low precipitation and primary production were not quantitatively related to SOC content. Overall, our results imply that microbial metabolism is distinctively different in arid lands than in non-arid lands., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) enrichment can significantly alter soil chemical properties in various ecosystems. Previous manipulative N experiments mainly focused on the intensity of N addition on soil properties by changing N input rates. It remains unclear, however, whether frequency of N addition can affect soil chemical properties. We examined the effects of frequency (2 versus 12 applications yr -1 ) and rate (ranging from 0 to 50 g N m -2 yr -1 ) of N addition on soil chemical properties of pH, base cations, soil pH buffering capacity (pHBC), and soil available micronutrients in a temperate steppe with and without mowing. Mowing significantly increased the effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC), soil exchangeable Ca and Na, available Fe, and soil pHBC when N was applied at low frequency. Low frequency of N addition significantly decreased soil pH and exchangeable Na but increased soil exchangeable Mg without mowing; however, it increased soil exchangeable Na and available Zn with mowing, while available Fe and Mn increased both with and without mowing. Higher rates of N addition (≥20 g N m -2 yr -1 ) decreased soil pH, ECEC and exchangeable Ca but increased soil available Fe, Mn and Cu regardless of the mowing treatment and frequency of N addition. Changes in soil organic matter, pHBC and ECEC were the main reasons affecting soil pH across mowing and N application treatments. Our results indicate that frequency of N addition played an essential role in altering soil chemical properties. Simulating N deposition via large and infrequent N additions can underestimate (exchangeable Mg and available Fe and Mn) or overestimate (soil pH and exchangeable Na) changes in soil properties. Our results further suggest that the effects of frequency of N addition on soil chemical attributes in semi-arid grassland ecosystems can be regulated by appropriate mowing management., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The allocation and stoichiometry of plant nutrients in leaves reflect fundamental ecosystem processes, biotic interactions, and environmental drivers such as water availability. Climate change will lead to increases in drought severity and frequency, but how canopy nutrients will respond to drought, and how these responses may vary with community composition along aridity gradients is poorly understood. We experimentally addressed this issue by reducing precipitation amounts by 66% during two consecutive growing seasons at three sites located along a natural aridity gradient. This allowed us to assess drought effects on canopy nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in arid and semiarid grasslands of northern China. Along the aridity gradient, canopy nutrient concentrations were positively related to aridity, with this pattern was driven primarily by species turnover (i.e., an increase in the relative biomass of N- and P-rich species with increasing aridity). In contrast, drought imposed experimentally increased N but decreased P concentrations in plant canopies. These changes were driven by the combined effects of species turnover and intraspecific variation in leaf nutrient concentrations. In addition, the sensitivity of canopy N and P concentrations to drought varied across the three sites. Canopy nutrient concentrations were less affected by drought at drier than wetter sites, because of the opposing effects of species turnover and intraspecific variation, as well as greater drought tolerance for nutrient-rich species. These contrasting effects of long-term aridity vs. short-term drought on canopy nutrient concentrations, as well as differing sensitivities among sites in the same grassland biome, highlight the challenge of predicting ecosystem responses to future climate change., (© 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Both the dominance and the mass ratio hypotheses predict that plant internal nutrient cycling in ecosystems is determined by the dominant species within plant communities. We tested this hypothesis under conditions of extreme drought by assessing plant nutrient (N, P and K) uptake and resorption in response to experimentally imposed precipitation reductions in two semiarid grasslands of northern China. These two communities shared similar environmental conditions, but had different dominant species-one was dominated by a rhizomatous grass (Leymus chinensis) and the other by a bunchgrass (Stipa grandis). Results showed that responses of N to drought differed between the two communities with drought decreasing green leaf N concentration and resorption in the community dominated by the rhizomatous grass, but not in the bunchgrass-dominated community. In contrast, negative effects of drought on green leaf P and K concentrations and their resorption efficiencies were consistent across the two communities. Additionally, in each community, the effects of extreme drought on soil N, P and K supply did not change synchronously with that on green leaf N, P and K concentrations, and senesced leaf N, P and K concentrations showed no response to extreme drought. Consistent with the dominance/mass ratio hypothesis, our findings suggest that differences in dominant species and their growth form (i.e., rhizomatous vs bunch grass) play an important nutrient-specific role in mediating plant internal nutrient cycling across communities within a single region.

Rhizosphere priming effects (RPEs) play a central role in modifying soil organic matter mineralization. However, effects of tree species and intraspecific competition on RPEs are poorly understood. We investigated RPEs of three tree species (larch, ash and Chinese fir) and the impact of intraspecific competition of these species on the RPE by growing them at two planting densities for 140 d. We determined the RPE on soil organic carbon (C) decomposition, gross and net nitrogen (N) mineralization and net plant N acquisition. Differences in the RPE among species were associated with differences in plant biomass. Gross N mineralization and net plant N acquisition increased, but net N mineralization decreased, as the RPE on soil organic C decomposition increased. Intraspecific competition reduced the RPE on soil organic C decomposition, gross and net N mineralization, and net plant N acquisition, especially for ash and Chinese fir. Microbial N mining may explain the overall positive RPEs across species, whereas intensified plant-microbe competition for N may have reduced the RPE with intraspecific competition. Overall, the species-specific effects of tree species play an important role in modulating the magnitude and mechanisms of RPEs and the intraspecific competition on soil C and N dynamics., (© 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.)

Temporal variation in soil nitrogen (N) availability affects growth of grassland communities that differ in their use and reuse of N. In a 7-year-long climate change experiment in a semi-arid grassland, the temporal stability of plant biomass production varied with plant N turnover (reliance on externally acquired N relative to internally recycled N). Species with high N turnover were less stable in time compared to species with low N turnover. In contrast, N turnover at the community level was positively associated with asynchrony in biomass production, which in turn increased community temporal stability. Elevated CO 2 and summer irrigation, but not warming, enhanced community N turnover and stability, possibly because treatments promoted greater abundance of species with high N turnover. Our study highlights the importance of plant N turnover for determining the temporal stability of individual species and plant communities affected by climate change., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.)

Drought is predicted to increase in many areas of the world with consequences for soil carbon (C) dynamics. Plant litter, root exudates and microbial biomass can be used as C substrates to form organo-mineral complexes. Drought effects on plants and microbes could potentially compromise these relative stable soil C pools, by reducing plant C inputs and/or microbial activity. We conducted a 2-year drought experiment using rainout shelters in a semi-natural grassland. We measured aboveground biomass and C and nitrogen (N) in particulate organic matter (Pom), the organo-mineral fraction (Omin), and microbial biomass within the first 15 cm of soil. Aboveground plant biomass was reduced by 50% under drought in both years, but only the dominant C4 grasses were significantly affected. Soil C pools were not affected by drought, but were significantly higher in the relatively wet second year compared to the first year. Omin-C was positively related to microbial C during the first year, and positively related to clay and silt content in the second year. Increases in Omin-C in the second year were explained by increases in legume biomass and its effect on Pom-N and microbial biomass N (MBN) through structural equation modeling. In conclusion, soil C pools were unaffected by the drought treatment. Drought resistant legumes enhanced formation of organo-mineral complexes through increasing Pom-N and MBN. Our findings also indicate the importance of microbes for the formation of Omin-C as long as soil minerals have not reached their maximum capacity to bind with C (that is, saturation).

Rising levels of atmospheric CO 2 frequently stimulate plant inputs to soil, but the consequences of these changes for soil carbon (C) dynamics are poorly understood. Plant-derived inputs can accumulate in the soil and become part of the soil C pool ("new soil C"), or accelerate losses of pre-existing ("old") soil C. The dynamics of the new and old pools will likely differ and alter the long-term fate of soil C, but these separate pools, which can be distinguished through isotopic labeling, have not been considered in past syntheses. Using meta-analysis, we found that while elevated CO 2 (ranging from 550 to 800 parts per million by volume) stimulates the accumulation of new soil C in the short term (<1 year), these effects do not persist in the longer term (1-4 years). Elevated CO 2 does not affect the decomposition or the size of the old soil C pool over either temporal scale. Our results are inconsistent with predictions of conventional soil C models and suggest that elevated CO 2 might increase turnover rates of new soil C. Because increased turnover rates of new soil C limit the potential for additional soil C sequestration, the capacity of land ecosystems to slow the rise in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations may be smaller than previously assumed., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Multifactor experiments are often advocated as important for advancing terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs), yet to date, such models have only been tested against single-factor experiments. We applied 10 TBMs to the multifactor Prairie Heating and CO 2 Enrichment (PHACE) experiment in Wyoming, USA. Our goals were to investigate how multifactor experiments can be used to constrain models and to identify a road map for model improvement. We found models performed poorly in ambient conditions; there was a wide spread in simulated above-ground net primary productivity (range: 31-390 g C m -2  yr -1 ). Comparison with data highlighted model failures particularly with respect to carbon allocation, phenology, and the impact of water stress on phenology. Performance against the observations from single-factors treatments was also relatively poor. In addition, similar responses were predicted for different reasons across models: there were large differences among models in sensitivity to water stress and, among the N cycle models, N availability during the experiment. Models were also unable to capture observed treatment effects on phenology: they overestimated the effect of warming on leaf onset and did not allow CO 2 -induced water savings to extend the growing season length. Observed interactive (CO 2  × warming) treatment effects were subtle and contingent on water stress, phenology, and species composition. As the models did not correctly represent these processes under ambient and single-factor conditions, little extra information was gained by comparing model predictions against interactive responses. We outline a series of key areas in which this and future experiments could be used to improve model predictions of grassland responses to global change., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Biochar, a form of pyrogenic carbon, can contribute to agricultural and environmental sustainability by increasing soil reactivity. In soils, biochar could change its role over time through alterations in its surface chemistry. However, a mechanistic understanding of the aging process and its role in ionic nutrient adsorption and supply remain unclear. Here, we aged a wood biochar (550 °C) by chemical oxidation with 5-15% H 2 O 2 and investigated the changes in surface chemistry and the adsorption behavior of ammonium and phosphate. Oxidation changed the functionality of biochar with the introduction of carboxylic and phenolic groups, a reduction of oxonium groups and the transformation of pyridine to pyridone. After oxidation, the adsorption of ammonium increased while phosphate adsorption decreased. Ammonium adsorption capacity was nonlinearly related to the biochar's surface charge density (r 2 = 0.94) while electrostatic repulsion and loss of positive charge due to destruction of oxonium and pyridine, possibly caused the reduced phosphate adsorption. However, the oxidized biochar substantially adsorbed both ammonium and phosphate when biochar derived organic matter (BDOM) was included. Our results suggest that aging of biochar could reverse its capacity for the adsorption of cationic and anionic species but the inclusion of BDOM could increase ionic nutrient and contaminant retention.

It is unclear how elevated CO2 (eCO2 ) and the corresponding shifts in temperature and precipitation will interact to impact ecosystems over time. During a 7-year experiment in a semi-arid grassland, the response of plant biomass to eCO2 and warming was largely regulated by interannual precipitation, while the response of plant community composition was more sensitive to experiment duration. The combined effects of eCO2 and warming on aboveground plant biomass were less positive in 'wet' growing seasons, but total plant biomass was consistently stimulated by ~ 25% due to unique, supra-additive responses of roots. Independent of precipitation, the combined effects of eCO2 and warming on C3 graminoids became increasingly positive and supra-additive over time, reversing an initial shift toward C4 grasses. Soil resources also responded dynamically and non-additively to eCO2 and warming, shaping the plant responses. Our results suggest grasslands are poised for drastic changes in function and highlight the need for long-term, factorial experiments., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.)

Background: While several procedural training curricula in laparoscopic colorectal surgery have been validated and published, none have focused on dividing surgical procedures into well-identified segments, which can be trained and assessed separately. This enables the surgeon and resident to focus on a specific segment, or combination of segments, of a procedure. Furthermore, it will provide a consistent and uniform method of training for residents rotating through different teaching hospitals. The goal of this study was to determine consensus on the key steps of laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy among experts in our University Medical Center and affiliated hospitals. This will form the basis for the INVEST video-assisted side-by-side training curriculum., Methods: The Delphi method was used for determining consensus on key steps of both procedures. A list of 31 steps for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and 37 steps for laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy was compiled from textbooks and national and international guidelines. In an online questionnaire, 22 experts in 12 hospitals within our teaching region were invited to rate all steps on a Likert scale on importance for the procedure., Results: Consensus was reached in two rounds. Sixteen experts agreed to participate. Of these 16 experts, 14 (88%) completed the questionnaire for both procedures. Of the 14 who completed the first round, 13 (93%) completed the second round. Cronbach's alpha was 0.79 for the right hemicolectomy and 0.91 for the sigmoid colectomy, showing high internal consistency between the experts. For the right hemicolectomy, 25 key steps were established; for the sigmoid colectomy, 24 key steps were established., Conclusion: Expert consensus on the key steps for laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy was reached. These key steps will form the basis for a video-assisted teaching curriculum.

Climate change scenarios forecast increased aridity in large areas worldwide with potentially important effects on nutrient availability and plant growth. Plant nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations (plant [N] and [P]) have been used to assess nutrient limitation, but a comprehensive understanding of drought stress on plant [N] and [P] remains elusive. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine responses of plant [N] and [P] to drought manipulation treatments and duration of drought stress. Drought stress showed negative effects on plant [N] (-3.73%) and plant [P] (-9.18%), and a positive effect on plant N:P (+ 6.98%). Drought stress had stronger negative effects on plant [N] and [P] in the short term (< 90 d) than in the long term (> 90 d). Drought treatments that included drying-rewetting cycles showed no effect on plant [N] and [P], while constant, prolonged, or intermittent drought stress had a negative effect on plant [P]. Our results suggest that negative effects on plant [N] and [P] are alleviated with extended duration of drought treatments and with drying-rewetting cycles. Availability of water, rather than of N and P, may be the main driver for reduced plant growth with increased long-term drought stress., (© 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.)

In desert ecosystems, plant growth and nutrient uptake are restricted by availability of soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The effects of both climate and soil nutrient conditions on N and P concentrations among desert plant life forms (annual, perennial and shrub) remain unclear. We assessed leaf N and P levels of 54 desert plants and measured the corresponding soil N and P in shallow (0-10 cm), middle (10-40 cm) and deep soil layers (40-100 cm), at 52 sites in a temperate desert of northwest China. Leaf P and N:P ratios varied markedly among life forms. Leaf P was higher in annuals and perennials than in shrubs. Leaf N and P showed a negative relationship with mean annual temperature (MAT) and no relationship with mean annual precipitation (MAP), but a positive relationship with soil P. Leaf P of shrubs was positively related to soil P in the deep soil. Our study indicated that leaf N and P across the three life forms were influenced by soil P. Deep-rooted plants may enhance the availability of P in the surface soil facilitating growth of shallow-rooted life forms in this N and P limited system, but further research is warranted on this aspect.

The long term effect of biochar application on soil microbial biomass is not well understood. We measured soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) in a field experiment during a winter wheat growing season after four consecutive years of no (CK), 4.5 (B4.5) and 9.0 t biochar ha(-1) yr(-1) (B9.0) applied. For comparison, a treatment with wheat straw residue incorporation (SR) was also included. Results showed that biochar application increased soil MBC significantly compared to the CK treatment, and that the effect size increased with biochar application rate. The B9.0 treatment showed the same effect on MBC as the SR treatment. Treatments effects on soil MBN were less strong than for MBC. The microbial biomass C∶N ratio was significantly increased by biochar. Biochar might decrease the fraction of biomass N mineralized (KN), which would make the soil MBN for biochar treatments underestimated, and microbial biomass C∶N ratios overestimated. Seasonal fluctuation in MBC was less for biochar amended soils than for CK and SR treatments, suggesting that biochar induced a less extreme environment for microorganisms throughout the season. There was a significant positive correlation between MBC and soil water content (SWC), but there was no significant correlation between MBC and soil temperature. Biochar amendments may therefore reduce temporal variability in environmental conditions for microbial growth in this system thereby reducing temporal fluctuations in C and N dynamics.

Future ecosystem properties of grasslands will be driven largely by belowground biomass responses to climate change, which are challenging to understand due to experimental and technical constraints. We used a multi-faceted approach to explore single and combined impacts of elevated CO2 and warming on root carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics in a temperate, semiarid, native grassland at the Prairie Heating and CO2 Enrichment experiment. To investigate the indirect, moisture mediated effects of elevated CO2, we included an irrigation treatment. We assessed root standing mass, morphology, residence time and seasonal appearance/disappearance of community-aggregated roots, as well as mass and N losses during decomposition of two dominant grass species (a C3 and a C4). In contrast to what is common in mesic grasslands, greater root standing mass under elevated CO2 resulted from increased production, unmatched by disappearance. Elevated CO2 plus warming produced roots that were longer, thinner and had greater surface area, which, together with greater standing biomass, could potentially alter root function and dynamics. Decomposition increased under environmental conditions generated by elevated CO2, but not those generated by warming, likely due to soil desiccation with warming. Elevated CO2, particularly under warming, slowed N release from C4-but not C3-roots, and consequently could indirectly affect N availability through treatment effects on species composition. Elevated CO2 and warming effects on root morphology and decomposition could offset increased C inputs from greater root biomass, thereby limiting future net C accrual in this semiarid grassland.

Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and altered precipitation regimes have profound impacts on ecosystem functioning in semiarid grasslands. The interactions between those two factors remain largely unknown. A field experiment with N and water additions was conducted in a semiarid grassland in northern China. We examined the responses of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and plant N use during two contrasting hydrological growing seasons. Nitrogen addition had no impact on ANPP, which may be accounted for by the offset between enhanced plant N uptake and decreased plant nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Water addition significantly enhanced ANPP, which was largely due to enhanced plant aboveground N uptake. Nitrogen and water additions significantly interacted to affect ANPP, plant N uptake and N concentrations at the community level. Our observations highlight the important role of plant N uptake and use in mediating the effects of N and water addition on ANPP.

The flux of carbon dioxide (CO2) between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere may ameliorate or exacerbate climate change, depending on the relative responses of ecosystem photosynthesis and respiration to warming temperatures, rising atmospheric CO2, and altered precipitation. The combined effect of these global change factors is especially uncertain because of their potential for interactions and indirectly mediated conditions such as soil moisture. Here, we present observations of CO2 fluxes from a multi-factor experiment in semi-arid grassland that suggests a potentially strong climate - carbon cycle feedback under combined elevated [CO2] and warming. Elevated [CO2] alone, and in combination with warming, enhanced ecosystem respiration to a greater extent than photosynthesis, resulting in net C loss over four years. The effect of warming was to reduce respiration especially during years of below-average precipitation, by partially offsetting the effect of elevated [CO2] on soil moisture and C cycling. Carbon losses were explained partly by stimulated decomposition of soil organic matter with elevated [CO2]. The climate - carbon cycle feedback observed in this semiarid grassland was mediated by soil water content, which was reduced by warming and increased by elevated [CO2]. Ecosystem models should incorporate direct and indirect effects of climate change on soil water content in order to accurately predict terrestrial feedbacks and long-term storage of C in soil.

Rhizosphere priming is the change in decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) caused by root activity. Rhizosphere priming plays a crucial role in soil carbon (C) dynamics and their response to global climate change. Rhizosphere priming may be affected by soil nutrient availability, but rhizosphere priming itself can also affect nutrient supply to plants. These interactive effects may be of particular relevance in understanding the sustained increase in plant growth and nutrient supply in response to a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration. We examined how these interactions were affected by elevated CO2 in two similar semiarid grassland field studies. We found that an increase in rhizosphere priming enhanced the release of nitrogen (N) through decomposition of a larger fraction of SOM in one study, but not in the other. We postulate that rhizosphere priming may enhance N supply to plants in systems that are N limited, but that rhizosphere priming may not occur in systems that are phosphorus (P) limited. Under P limitation, rhizodeposition may be used for mobilization of P, rather than for decomposition of SOM. Therefore, with increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, rhizosphere priming may play a larger role in affecting C sequestration in N poor than in P poor soils.

Atmospheric concentrations of methane (CH4 ) and nitrous oxide (N2 O) have increased over the last 150 years because of human activity. Soils are important sources and sinks of both potent greenhouse gases where their production and consumption are largely regulated by biological processes. Climate change could alter these processes thereby affecting both rate and direction of their exchange with the atmosphere. We examined how a rise in atmospheric CO2 and temperature affected CH4 and N2 O fluxes in a well-drained upland soil (volumetric water content ranging between 6% and 23%) in a semiarid grassland during five growing seasons. We hypothesized that responses of CH4 and N2 O fluxes to elevated CO2 and warming would be driven primarily by treatment effects on soil moisture. Previously we showed that elevated CO2 increased and warming decreased soil moisture in this grassland. We therefore expected that elevated CO2 and warming would have opposing effects on CH4 and N2 O fluxes. Methane was taken up throughout the growing season in all 5 years. A bell-shaped relationship was observed with soil moisture with highest CH4 uptake at intermediate soil moisture. Both N2 O emission and uptake occurred at our site with some years showing cumulative N2 O emission and other years showing cumulative N2 O uptake. Nitrous oxide exchange switched from net uptake to net emission with increasing soil moisture. In contrast to our hypothesis, both elevated CO2 and warming reduced the sink of CH4 and N2 O expressed in CO2 equivalents (across 5 years by 7% and 11% for elevated CO2 and warming respectively) suggesting that soil moisture changes were not solely responsible for this reduction. We conclude that in a future climate this semiarid grassland may become a smaller sink for atmospheric CH4 and N2 O expressed in CO2 -equivalents., (© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Precipitation pulses in arid ecosystems can lead to temporal asynchrony in microbial and plant processing of nitrogen (N) during drying/wetting cycles causing increased N loss. In contrast, more consistent availability of soil moisture in mesic ecosystems can synchronize microbial and plant processes during the growing season, thus minimizing N loss. We tested whether microbial N cycling is asynchronous with plant N uptake in a semiarid grassland. Using (15)N tracers, we compared rates of N cycling by microbes and N uptake by plants after water pulses of 1 and 2 cm to rates in control plots without a water pulse. Microbial N immobilization, gross N mineralization, and nitrification dramatically increased 1-3 days after the water pulses, with greatest responses after the 2-cm pulse. In contrast, plant N uptake increased more after the 1-cm than after the 2-cm pulse. Both microbial and plant responses reverted to control levels within 10 days, indicating that both microbial and plant responses were short lived. Thus, microbial and plant processes were temporally synchronous following a water pulse in this semiarid grassland, but the magnitude of the pulse substantially influenced whether plants or microbes were more effective in acquiring N. Furthermore, N loss increased after both small and large water pulses (as shown by a decrease in total (15)N recovery), indicating that changes in precipitation event sizes with future climate change could exacerbate N losses from semiarid ecosystems.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential nutrients for primary producers and decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems. Although climate change affects terrestrial N cycling with important feedbacks to plant productivity and carbon sequestration, the impacts of climate change on the relative availability of N with respect to P remain highly uncertain. In a semiarid grassland in Wyoming, USA, we studied the effects of atmospheric CO(2) enrichment (to 600 ppmv) and warming (1.5/3.0°C above ambient temperature during the day/night) on plant, microbial and available soil pools of N and P. Elevated CO(2) increased P availability to plants and microbes relative to that of N, whereas warming reduced P availability relative to N. Across years and treatments, plant N : P ratios varied between 5 and 18 and were inversely related to soil moisture. Our results indicate that soil moisture is important in controlling P supply from inorganic sources, causing reduced P relative to N availability during dry periods. Both wetter soil conditions under elevated CO(2) and drier conditions with warming can further alter N : P. Although warming may alleviate N constraints under elevated CO(2) , warming and drought can exacerbate P constraints on plant growth and microbial activity in this semiarid grassland., (© 2012 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust.)

In recent years, increased awareness of the potential interactions between rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([ CO2 ]) and temperature has illustrated the importance of multifactorial ecosystem manipulation experiments for validating Earth System models. To address the urgent need for increased understanding of responses in multifactorial experiments, this article synthesizes how ecosystem productivity and soil processes respond to combined warming and [ CO2 ] manipulation, and compares it with those obtained in single factor [ CO2 ] and temperature manipulation experiments. Across all combined elevated [ CO2 ] and warming experiments, biomass production and soil respiration were typically enhanced. Responses to the combined treatment were more similar to those in the [ CO2 ]-only treatment than to those in the warming-only treatment. In contrast to warming-only experiments, both the combined and the [ CO2 ]-only treatments elicited larger stimulation of fine root biomass than of aboveground biomass, consistently stimulated soil respiration, and decreased foliar nitrogen (N) concentration. Nonetheless, mineral N availability declined less in the combined treatment than in the [ CO2 ]-only treatment, possibly due to the warming-induced acceleration of decomposition, implying that progressive nitrogen limitation (PNL) may not occur as commonly as anticipated from single factor [ CO2 ] treatment studies. Responses of total plant biomass, especially of aboveground biomass, revealed antagonistic interactions between elevated [ CO2 ] and warming, i.e. the response to the combined treatment was usually less-than-additive. This implies that productivity projections might be overestimated when models are parameterized based on single factor responses. Our results highlight the need for more (and especially more long-term) multifactor manipulation experiments. Because single factor CO2 responses often dominated over warming responses in the combined treatments, our results also suggest that projected responses to future global warming in Earth System models should not be parameterized using single factor warming experiments., (© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Global warming is predicted to induce desiccation in many world regions through increases in evaporative demand. Rising CO(2) may counter that trend by improving plant water-use efficiency. However, it is not clear how important this CO(2)-enhanced water use efficiency might be in offsetting warming-induced desiccation because higher CO(2) also leads to higher plant biomass, and therefore greater transpirational surface. Furthermore, although warming is predicted to favour warm-season, C(4) grasses, rising CO(2) should favour C(3), or cool-season plants. Here we show in a semi-arid grassland that elevated CO(2) can completely reverse the desiccating effects of moderate warming. Although enrichment of air to 600 p.p.m.v. CO(2) increased soil water content (SWC), 1.5/3.0 °C day/night warming resulted in desiccation, such that combined CO(2) enrichment and warming had no effect on SWC relative to control plots. As predicted, elevated CO(2) favoured C(3) grasses and enhanced stand productivity, whereas warming favoured C(4) grasses. Combined warming and CO(2) enrichment stimulated above-ground growth of C(4) grasses in 2 of 3 years when soil moisture most limited plant productivity. The results indicate that in a warmer, CO(2)-enriched world, both SWC and productivity in semi-arid grasslands may be higher than previously expected.

Carbon allocation and N acquisition by plants following defoliation may be linked through plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere. Plant C allocation patterns and rhizosphere interactions can also be affected by rising atmospheric CO(2) concentrations, which in turn could influence plant and microbial responses to defoliation. We studied two widespread perennial grasses native to rangelands of western North America to test whether (1) defoliation-induced enhancement of rhizodeposition would stimulate rhizosphere N availability and plant N uptake, and (2) defoliation-induced enhancement of rhizodeposition, and associated effects on soil N availability, would increase under elevated CO(2). Both species were grown at ambient (400 μL L(-1)) and elevated (780 μL L(-1)) atmospheric [CO(2)] under water-limiting conditions. Plant, soil and microbial responses were measured 1 and 8 days after a defoliation treatment. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found that defoliation and elevated CO(2) both reduced carbon inputs to the rhizosphere of Bouteloua gracilis (C(4)) and Pascopyrum smithii (C(3)). However, both species also increased N allocation to shoots of defoliated versus non-defoliated plants 8 days after treatment. This response was greatest for P. smithii, and was associated with negative defoliation effects on root biomass and N content and reduced allocation of post-defoliation assimilate to roots. In contrast, B. gracilis increased allocation of post-defoliation assimilate to roots, and did not exhibit defoliation-induced reductions in root biomass or N content. Our findings highlight key differences between these species in how post-defoliation C allocation to roots versus shoots is linked to shoot N yield, but indicate that defoliation-induced enhancement of shoot N concentration and N yield is not mediated by increased C allocation to the rhizosphere.

Summary: *Simulation models indicate that the nitrogen (N) cycle plays a key role in how other ecosystem processes such as plant productivity and carbon (C) sequestration respond to elevated CO(2) and warming. However, combined effects of elevated CO(2) and warming on N cycling have rarely been tested in the field. *Here, we studied N cycling under ambient and elevated CO(2) concentrations (600 micromol mol(-1)), and ambient and elevated temperature (1.5 : 3.0 degrees C warmer day:night) in a full factorial semiarid grassland field experiment in Wyoming, USA. We measured soil inorganic N, plant and microbial N pool sizes and NO(3)(-) uptake (using a (15)N tracer). *Soil inorganic N significantly decreased under elevated CO(2), probably because of increased microbial N immobilization, while soil inorganic N and plant N pool sizes significantly increased with warming, probably because of increased N supply. We observed no CO(2 )x warming interaction effects on soil inorganic N, N pool sizes or NO(3)(-) uptake in plants and microbes. *Our results indicate a more closed N cycle under elevated CO(2) and a more open N cycle with warming, which could affect long-term N retention, plant productivity, and C sequestration in this semiarid grassland.

Many aspects of nitrogen (N) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems remain poorly understood. Progress in studying N cycling has been hindered by a lack of effective measurements that integrate processes such as denitrification, competition for N between plants and microbes, and soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition over large time scales (years rather than hours or days). Here I show how long-term measurements of 15N in plants, microbes, and soil after a one-time addition of 15N ("labeled" N) can provide powerful information about long-term N dynamics in a semiarid grassland. I develop a simple dynamic model and show that labeled-N fractions in plant and microbial-N pools (expressed as a fraction of total N in each pool) can change long after 15N application (> or = 5 years). These 15N dynamics are closely tied to the turnover times of the different N pools. The model accurately simulated the labeled-N fractions in aboveground biomass measured annually during five years after addition of 15N to a semiarid grassland. I also tested the sensitivity of five different processes on labeled-N fractions in aboveground plant biomass. Changing plant/microbial competition for N had very little effect on the labeled-N fraction in aboveground biomass in the short and long-term. Changing microbial activity (N mineralization and immobilization), N loss, or N resorption/re-translocation by plants affected the labeled-N fraction in the short-term, but not in the long-term. Large long-term effects on the labeled-N fraction in aboveground biomass could only be established by changing the size of the active soil-N pool. Therefore, the significantly greater long-term decline in the labeled-N fraction in aboveground biomass observed under elevated CO2 in this grassland system could have resulted from an increased active soil-N pool under elevated CO2 (i.e., destabilization of soil organic matter that was relatively recalcitrant under ambient CO2 conditions). I conclude that short- and long-term labeled-N fractions in plant biomass after a 15N pulse are sensitive to processes such as N mineralization and immobilization, N loss, and soil organic matter (de-)stabilization. Modeling these fractions provides a useful tool to better understand N cycling in terrestrial ecosystems.

Decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) is the main process governing the release of CO(2) into the atmosphere from terrestrial systems. Although the importance of soil-root interactions for SOC decomposition has increasingly been recognized, their long-term effect on SOC decomposition remains poorly understood. Here we provide experimental evidence for a rhizosphere priming effect, in which interactions between soil and tree roots substantially accelerate SOC decomposition. In a 395-day greenhouse study with Ponderosa pine and Fremont cottonwood trees grown in three different soils, SOC decomposition in the planted treatments was significantly greater (up to 225%) than in soil incubations alone. This rhizosphere priming effect persisted throughout the experiment, until well after initial soil disturbance, and increased with a greater amount of root-derived SOC formed during the experiment. Loss of old SOC was greater than the formation of new C, suggesting that increased C inputs from roots could result in net soil C loss.

In nitrogen (N)-limited systems, the potential to sequester carbon depends on the balance between N inputs and losses as well as on how efficiently N is used, yet little is known about responses of these processes to changes in plant species richness, atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]), and N deposition. We examined how plant species richness (1 or 16 species), elevated [CO2] (ambient or 560 ppm), and inorganic N addition (0 or 4 g x m(-2) x yr(-1)) affected ecosystem N losses, specifically leaching of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) and organic N (DON) in a grassland field experiment in Minnesota, USA. We observed greater DIN leaching below 60 cm soil depth in the monoculture plots (on average 1.8 and 3.1 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) for ambient N and N-fertilized plots respectively) than in the 16-species plots (0.2 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) for both ambient N and N-fertilized plots), particularly when inorganic N was added. Most likely, loss of complementary resource use and reduced biological N demand in the monoculture plots caused the increase in DIN leaching relative to the high-diversity plots. Elevated [CO2] reduced DIN concentrations under conditions when DIN concentrations were high (i.e., in N-fertilized and monoculture plots). Contrary to the results for DIN, DON leaching was greater in the 16-species plots than in the monoculture plots (on average 0.4 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) in 16-species plots and 0.2 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) in monoculture plots). In fact, DON dominated N leaching in the 16-species plots (64% of total N leaching as DON), suggesting that, even with high biological demand for N, substantial amounts of N can be lost as DON. We found no significant main effects of elevated [CO2] on DIN or DON leaching; however, elevated [CO2] reduced the positive effect of inorganic N addition on DON leaching, especially during the second year of observation. Our results suggest that plant species richness, elevated [CO2], and N deposition alter DIN loss primarily through changes in biological N demand. DON losses can be as large as DIN loss but are more sensitive to organic matter production and turnover.