Agricultural fertilization significantly enhances amplitude of land-atmosphere CO2 exchange
Observations show an increase in the seasonal cycle amplitude of CO<sub>2</sub> in northern latitudes over the past half century. Although multiple drivers contribute, observations and inversion models cannot quantitatively account for the factors contributing to the increased CO<sub>2</sub> amplitude and older versions of Earth System Models (ESMs) do not simulate it. Here we show that several current generation ESMs are closer to the observed CO<sub>2</sub> amplitude and highlight that in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) agricultural nitrogen (N) fertilization increases CO<sub>2</sub> amplitude by 1-3 ppm throughout the Northern Hemisphere and up to 9 ppm in agricultural hotspots. While agricultural N fertilization is the largest contributor to the enhanced amplitude (45%) in Northern Hemisphere land-atmosphere carbon fluxes in CESM, higher CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations and warmer temperatures also contribute, though to a lesser extent (40% and 18% respectively). Our results emphasize the fundamental role of agricultural management in Northern Hemisphere carbon cycle feedbacks and illustrate that agricultural N fertilization should be considered in future carbon cycle simulations.
Authors
- G. Keppel‐Aleks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2213-0044)
- Pierre Friedlingstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3309-4739)
- Zhenqi Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1245-5654)
- Isla Ruth Simpson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2915-1377)
- Ying Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9819-1241)
- Jiameng Lai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8293-1938)
- Xin Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0605-6430)
- Danica Lombardozzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3557-7929)
- Keith Lindsay
- David M. Lawrence (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2968-3023)
- William R. Wieder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7116-1985)
- Charles D. Koven (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3367-0065)
- Gordon B. Bonan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0830-6437)
Institutions
- NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- École Polytechnique (FR)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (US)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (FR)
- Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (FR)
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR)
- NSF NCAR Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory (US)
- Colorado State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-02-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56730-z
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.63
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture