Tropical forest carbon sequestration accelerated by nitrogen.

Wenguang Tang, Jefferson S Hall, Oliver L Phillips, Roel J W Brienen, S Joseph Wright, Michelle Y Wong, Lars O Hedin, Michiel van Breugel, Joseph B Yavitt, Phillip M Hannam, Sarah A Batterman

Journal: Nature communications 2026;17(1):55

PMID: 41530117

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Abstract

Understanding forest carbon sequestration is crucial for predicting and managing the carbon cycle, yet we lack evidence for whether, when and how the carbon sink in tropical forests recovering from land use change is nutrient limited. Here we show how the tropical forest recovery rate responds to experimental nutrient manipulation over a secondary succession gradient in a naturally recovering Central American landscape. Nutrient limitation of aboveground biomass accumulation shifts from strong nitrogen limitation in young forests to no evidence of nitrogen or phosphorus limitation in older secondary or mature forests. Nitrogen addition increases aboveground biomass accumulation by 95% in recently abandoned pasture and 48% in 10-year-old forests. Conversely, we observe no influence of nitrogen on older forests and no evidence of phosphorus limitation at any stage. If our findings of nitrogen limitation extend to young tropical forests globally, nitrogen could prevent the sequestration of 0.69 (0.47-0.84) Gt CO₂ each year.

Address: School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.; School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.; ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panamá, Panama.; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama.; Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA.; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama.; Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.; Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.; Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA.; School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. [email protected].; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama. [email protected].; Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA. [email protected].

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66825-2

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MeSH Terms: Nitrogen, Carbon Sequestration, Forests, Tropical Climate, Biomass, Phosphorus, Trees, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon, Carbon Cycle