Terrestrial nitrogen cycling in Earth system models revisited
May 9, 2016
Understanding the degree to which nitrogen (N) availability limits land carbon (C) uptake under global environmental change represents an unresolved challenge. First-generation ‘C-only’vegetation models, lacking explicit representations of N cycling,projected a substantial and increasing land C sink under rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This prediction was questioned for not taking into account the potentially limiting effect of N availability, which is necessary for plant growth (Hungate et al.,2003). More recent global models include coupled C and N cycles in land ecosystems (C–N models) and are widely assumed to be more realistic. However, inclusion of more processes has not consistently improved their performance in capturing observed responses of the global C cycle (e.g. Wenzel et al., 2014). With the advent of a new generation of global models, including coupled C, N, and phosphorus (P) cycling, model complexity is sure to increase; but model reliability may not, unless greater attention is paid to the correspondence of model process representations ande mpirical evidence. It was in this context that the ‘Nitrogen Cycle Workshop’ at Dartington Hall, Devon, UK was held on 1–5 February 2016. Organized by I. Colin Prentice and Benjamin D. Stocker (Imperial College London, UK), the workshop was funded by the European Research Council,project ‘Earth system Model Bias Reduction and assessing Abrupt Climate change’ (EMBRACE). We gathered empirical ecologists and ecosystem modellers to identify key uncertainties in terrestrial C–N cycling, and to discuss processes that are missing or poorly represented in current models.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2016 |
---|---|
Title | Terrestrial nitrogen cycling in Earth system models revisited |
DOI | 10.1111/nph.13997 |
Authors | Benjamin Stocker, I. Colin Prentice, Sarah Cornell, T Davies-Barnard, Adrien Finzi, Oskar Franklin, Ivan Janssens, Tuula Larmola, Stefano Manzoni, Torgny Näsholm, John Raven, Karin Rebel, Sasha C. Reed, Sara Vicca, Andy Wiltshire, Sönke Zaehle |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | New Phytologist |
Index ID | 70171092 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Southwest Biological Science Center |