title: Human-induced nitrogen-phosphorus imbalances alter natural and managed ecosystems across the globe.
abstract: The availability of carbon from rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and of nitrogen from various human-induced inputs to ecosystems is continuously increasing; however, these increases are not paralleled by a similar increase in phosphorus inputs. The inexorable change in the stoichiometry of carbon and nitrogen relative to phosphorus has no equivalent in Earth's history. Here we report the profound and yet uncertain consequences of the human imprint on the phosphorus cycle and nitrogen:phosphorus stoichiometry for the structure, functioning and diversity of terrestrial and aquatic organisms and ecosystems. A mass balance approach is used to show that limited phosphorus and nitrogen availability are likely to jointly reduce future carbon storage by natural ecosystems during this century. Further, if phosphorus fertilizers cannot be made increasingly accessible, the crop yields projections of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment imply an increase of the nutrient deficit in developing regions.
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peñuelas
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poulter
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sardans
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ciais
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Ecosystems Services and Management, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Marijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Velde
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bopp
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, IPSL, CNRS/UPMC, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Boucher
authors.affiliation: Géosciences-Environnement Toulouse, CNRS-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Godderis
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR Eco&Sols, Place Viala, 24060 Montpellier cedex, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hinsinger
authors.affiliation: 1] CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain [2] CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Llusia
authors.affiliation: Géosciences-Environnement Toulouse, CNRS-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nardin
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vicca
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Ecosystems Services and Management, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Obersteiner
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ivan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Janssens
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon; D017753:Ecosystem; D005068:Eutrophication; D006801:Humans; D009584:Nitrogen; D010758:Phosphorus
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen