This study reveals how understory forest plants in the Central Amazon adapt their nutrient acquisition strategies in response to elevated atmospheric CO₂, based on an in situ open-top chamber experiment. To support the CO₂ fertilization effect, plants adjust contrasting strategies to extract nutrients from litter and soil layers. This process intensifies competition between plants and microbes and may lead to declines in soil organic phosphorus, with important implications for carbon–phosphorus dynamics and the resilience of forests under climate change.
- Nathielly P. Martins
- Lucia Fuchslueger
- Carlos A. Quesada