Weibin Li

Lanzhou University | LZU · School of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology

Societal Impact Statement Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are essential elements for plant growth and are the primary nutrients in commercial fertilizers. However, the extent to which these nutrients individually limit plant growth is still unclear, as is the influence of their interactions. Using a meta‐analysis approach, plant growth was foun...

The increasing anthropogenic nitrogen (N) input is expected to affect soil total respiration (Rs), whereas the mechanisms of Rs components (autotrophic respiration, Ra; heterotrophic respiration, Rh) in response to aggravated N input remains controversial, especially in the subalpine ecosystems. A multi-level simulated N deposition experiment was d...

Context: Livestock grazing, a common method of grassland utilization, has profound effects on the plant biomass and biodiversity of grassland ecosystems. However, the overall directions and magnitudes of such effects, especially involving multiple livestock types and grazing seasons, remain poorly understood on a global scale. Objectives: We conduc...

Relative sea level rise (SLR) increasingly impacts coastal ecosystems through the formation of ghost forests. To predict the future of coastal ecosystems under SLR and changing climate, it is important to understand the physiological mechanisms underlying coastal tree mortality and to integrate this knowledge into dynamic vegetation models. We inco...

Increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition generally increases plant biomass production until reaching soil N saturation, which could increase the uncertainty of changes in ecosystem temporal stability and their mechanisms. Yet, the response of ecosystem stability to N enrichment and their underlying mechanisms are uncertain, especially when N satur...

Human-induced nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment have profound effects on grassland net primary production (NPP) and species richness. However, a comprehensive understanding of the relative contribution of N vs. P addition and their interaction on grassland NPP increase and species loss remains elusive. We compiled data from 80 field manipu...

Increasing seawater exposure is killing coastal trees globally, with expectations of accelerating mortality with rising sea levels. However, the impact of concomitant changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration, temperature, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) on seawater‐induced tree mortality is uncertain. We examined the mechanisms of seawater‐induced...

Sea-level rise is causing widespread tree mortality of coastal forests, with large consequences on the Earth system as a result of these forests’ importance in carbon and nutrient export. The mechanisms of mortality under these conditions are, however, poorly tested. We used wood anatomy traits, wood δ ¹³ C, and tree radial growth to retrospectivel...

Increasing severity and frequency of drought is predicted for large portions of the terrestrial biosphere, with major impacts already documented in wet tropical forests. Using a four-year rainfall exclusion experiment in the Daintree Rainforest in northeast Australia, we examined canopy tree responses to reduced precipitation and soil water availab...

Sea-level rise is one of the most critical challenges facing coastal ecosystems under climate change. Observations of elevated tree mortality in global coastal forests are increasing, but important knowledge gaps persist concerning the mechanism of salinity stress-induced non-halophytic tree mortality. We monitored progressive mortality and associa...

Background Inputs of above- and belowground litter into forest soils are changing at an unprecedented rate due to continuing human disturbances and climate change. Microorganisms drive the soil carbon (C) cycle, but the roles of above- and belowground litter in regulating the soil microbial community have not been evaluated at a global scale. Meth...

Increasing seawater exposure is causing mortality of coastal forests, yet the physiological response associated with seawater-induced tree mortality, particularly in non-halophytes, is poorly understood. We investigated the shifts in carbon and nitrogen metabolism of mature Sitka-spruce trees that were dying after an ecosystem-scale manipulation of...

AimNutrient resorption from senescing tissues is the most critical nutrient source for plants in degradation grasslands, playing critical roles to primary productivity and interspecies competitiveness. Hence within-species and among-species variation of nutrient resorption is one of the mechanisms explaining the increasing productivity and decreasi...

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been observed to impact plant structure and functional traits in terrestrial ecosystems. Although the effect of N deposition on plant water use has been well-evaluated in laboratories and in experimental forests, the linkages between water and carbon relations under N deposition are unclear. Here, we report o...

Drought and N addition have been shown to affect tree hydraulic traits, but few studies have been made on their interactions across species with different wood types or leaf forms. We examined the responses of hydraulic conductance and xylem anatomical traits of Quercus mongolica (ring-porous with simple-leaves), Fraxinus mandshurica (ring-porous w...

Aim Increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition may have profound effects on tree carbon allocation dynamics. However, a comprehensive understanding of how nitrogen (N) enrichment influences carbon (C) allocation across plant functional processes and tree organs in individual trees remains elusive. Location Global forest ecosystems. Time period 199...

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has complex effects on individual plants and terrestrial ecosystems. We synthesized results from 39 published papers (16 papers in English and 23 papers in Chinese) and conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the general responses of tree root traits to nitrogen addition, and further analyzed the difference of N-induce...

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) play a central role in plant functioning as energy carriers and building blocks for primary and secondary metabolism. Many studies have investigated how environmental and anthropogenic changes, like increasingly frequent and severe drought episodes, elevated CO2, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition, influence NSC...

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been found to significantly affect plant growth and physiological performance in terrestrial ecosystems. Many individual studies have investigated how N addition influences plant functional traits, however these investigations have usually been limited to a single species, and thereby do not allow derivation...

The list of 56 papers used in the meta-analysis.

Summary of the heterogeneity between moderator levels (Qb) (plant taxonomic groups, fertilizer types, N-addition levels and treatment durations) and P-value.

The percentage change (%) caused by N addition for each variable and the variables are categorized into different groups according to climate type and N2-fixing or non-N2-fixing plants.

Soil respiration is the largest terrestrial carbon flux into the atmosphere, and different tree species could directly influence root derived respiration and indirectly regulate soil respiration rates by altering soil chemical and microbial properties. In this study, we assessed the small scale spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration and the micr...

Snowpack in winter is very sensitive to climate change, and may in turn induce complex effects on nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. This study synthesized data from 41 publications based on snow depth manipulation experiments and conducted a meta-analysis to assess the general responses of 12 variables related to terrestrial nitrogen (N)...