2025-09-14 中国科学院(CAS)
The effects of decadal warming on soil nitrogen stocks in a permafrost ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau (Image by WEI Bin)
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/life/202509/t20250909_1054303.shtml
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01786-1
チベット永久凍土生態系における温暖化に伴う土壌窒素貯蔵量の漸進的減少 Progressive decline in soil nitrogen stocks with warming in a Tibetan permafrost ecosystem
Bin Wei,Dianye Zhang,Carolina Voigt,Wei Zhou,Yuxuan Bai,Zhihu Zheng,Yuhong Xie,Chunbao Zhao,Feiqi Wang,Luyao Huang,Guibiao Yang,Dan Kou,Yunfeng Peng,Yiqi Luo,Josep Peñuelas & Yuanhe Yang
Nature Geoscience Published:02 September 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01786-1
Abstract
Permafrost regions contain a substantial fraction of Earth’s soil nitrogen, which is vulnerable to climate change. The response of this crucial N stock to warming could impact the permafrost–climate feedback by altering plant productivity, microbial decomposition and nitrous oxide emissions. However, the long-term trajectory of soil N stocks in response to warming remains unclear. Here we present results from a ten-year field warming experiment in a permafrost ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau. We made repeated measurements of soil N stocks to 50 cm depth and assessed 28 N-cycling variables to explore three primary pathways affecting soil N stocks, including N inputs, microbial N transformations and N losses. Our results reveal that, despite no changes being observed during the initial years of the experiment, warmed plots experienced a decline in surface soil N stocks (an average 7.7% reduction relative to control plots) after eight years of warming. This decrease is associated with the enhanced N sequestration in perennial plant biomass, increased ecosystem N leaching and gaseous N losses from soils. Our findings underscore the vulnerability of soil N stocks in permafrost regions to ongoing warming, and suggest that the potential permafrost–climate feedback may be stronger than previously anticipated.
