Long-Term Change in the Nitrogen Cycle of Tropical Forests

Abstract

Deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) from human activities has large effects on temperate forests where low natural N availability limits productivity but is not known to affect tropical forests where natural N availability is often much greater. Leaf N and the ratio of N isotopes (δ¹⁵N) increased substantially in a moist forest in Panama between ~1968 and 2007, as did tree-ring δ¹⁵N in a dry forest in Thailand over the past century. A decade of fertilization of a nearby Panamanian forest with N caused similar increases in leaf N and δ¹⁵N. Therefore, our results indicate regional increases in N availability due to anthropogenic N deposition. Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide measurements and increased emissions of anthropogenic reactive N over tropical land areas suggest that these changes are widespread in tropical forests.