Nutrient Addition Effects on Tropical Dry Forests: A Mini-review from Microbial to Ecosystem Scales

Authors

Jennifer S. Powers, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Kristen K. Becklund, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Maria G. Gei, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Siddharth B. Iyengar, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Rebecca Meyer, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Christine S. O'Connell, Chapman UniversityFollow
Erik M. Schilling, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Christina M. Smith, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Bonnie G. Waring, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
Leland K. Werden, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-29-2015

Abstract

Humans have more than doubled inputs of reactive nitrogen globally and greatly accelerated the biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus and metals. However, the impacts of increased element mobility on tropical ecosystems remain poorly quantified, particularly for the vast tropical dry forest biome. Tropical dry forests are characterized by marked seasonality, relatively little precipitation, and high heterogeneity in plant functional diversity and soil chemistry. For these reasons, increased nutrient deposition may affect tropical dry forests differently than wet tropical or temperate forests. Here, we review studies that investigated how nutrient availability affects ecosystem and community processes from the microsite to ecosystem scales in tropical dry forests. The effects of N and P addition on ecosystem carbon cycling and plant and microbial dynamics depend on forest successional stage, soil parent material, and rainfall regime. Responses may depend on whether overall productivity is N- vs. P-limited, although data to test this hypothesis are limited. These results highlight the many important gaps in our understanding of tropical dry forest responses to global change. Large-scale experiments are required to resolve these uncertainties.

Comments

This article was originally published in Frontiers in Earth Science, volume 3, in 2015. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2015.00034

Recommended Citation

Powers JS, Becklund KK, Gei MG, Iyengar SB, Meyer R, O’Connell CS, Schilling EM, Smith CM, Waring BG, and Werden LK (2015) Nutrient addition effects on tropical dry forests: a mini-review from microbial to ecosystem scales. Front. Earth Sci. 3:34. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2015.00034

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.