Global response patterns of plant photosynthesis to nitrogen addition: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

A mechanistic understanding of plant photosynthetic response is needed to reliably predict changes in terrestrial carbon (C) gain under conditions of chronically elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Here, using 2,683 observations from 240 journal articles, we conducted a global meta‐analysis to reveal effects of N addition on 14 photosynthesis‐related traits and affecting moderators. We found that across 320 terrestrial plant species, leaf N was enhanced comparably on mass basis (Nmass, +18.4%) and area basis (Narea, +14.3%), with no changes in specific leaf area or leaf mass per area. Total leaf area (TLA) was increased significantly, as indicated by the increases in total leaf biomass (+46.5%), leaf area per plant (+29.7%), and leaf area index (LAI, +24.4%). To a lesser extent than for TLA, N addition significantly enhanced leaf photosynthetic rate per area (Aarea, +12.6%), stomatal conductance (gs, +7.5%), and transpiration rate (E, +10.5%). The responses of Aarea were positively related with that of gs, with no changes in instantaneous water‐use efficiency and only slight increases in long‐term water‐use efficiency (+2.5%) inferred from 13 C composition. The responses of traits depended on biological, experimental, and environmental moderators. As experimental duration and N load increased, the responses of LAI and Aarea diminished while that of E increased significantly. The observed patterns of increases in both TLA and E indicate that N deposition will increase the amount of water used by plants. Taken together, N deposition will enhance gross photosynthetic C gain of the terrestrial plants while increasing their water loss to the atmosphere, but the effects on C gain might diminish over time and that on plant water use would be amplified if N deposition persists.