Isotopic evidence for increased carbon and nitrogen exchanges between peatland plants and their symbiotic microbes with rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations since 15,000 cal. year BP

Whether nitrogen (N) availability will limit plant growth and removal of atmospheric CO₂ by the terrestrial biosphere this century is controversial. Studies have suggested that N could progressively limit plant growth, as trees and soils accumulate N in slowly cycling biomass pools in response to increases in carbon sequestration. However, a question remains over whether longer-term (decadal to century) feedbacks between climate, CO₂ and plant N uptake could emerge to reduce ecosystem-level N limitations. The symbioses between plants and microbes can help plants to acquire N from the soil or from the atmosphere via biological N₂ fixation—the pathway through which N can be rapidly brought into ecosystems and thereby partially or completely alleviate N limitation on plant productivity. Here we present measurements of plant N isotope composition (δ¹⁵N) in a peat core that dates to 15,000 cal. year BP to ascertain ecosystem-level N cycling responses to rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. We find that pre-industrial increases in global atmospheric CO₂ concentrations corresponded with a decrease in the δ¹⁵N of both Sphagnum moss and Ericaceae when constrained for climatic factors. A modern experiment demonstrates that the δ¹⁵N of Sphagnum decreases with increasing N₂-fixation rates. These findings suggest that plant-microbe symbioses that facilitate N acquisition are, over the long term, enhanced under rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, highlighting an ecosystem-level feedback mechanism whereby N constraints on terrestrial carbon storage can be overcome.