Continental-scale nitrogen pollution is shifting forest mycorrhizal associations and soil carbon stocks

Most tree roots on Earth form a symbiosis with either ecto- or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Nitrogen fertilization is hypothesized to favor arbuscular mycorrhizal tree species at the expense of ectomycorrhizal species due to differences in fungal nitrogen acquisition strategies, and this may alter soil carbon balance, as differences in forest mycorrhizal associations are linked to differences in soil carbon pools. Combining nitrogen deposition data with continental-scale US forest data, we show that nitrogen pollution is spatially associated with a decline in ectomycorrhizal vs. arbuscular mycorrhizal trees. Furthermore, nitrogen deposition has contrasting effects on arbuscular vs. ectomycorrhizal demographic processes, favoring arbuscular mycorrhizal trees at the expense of ectomycorrhizal trees, and is spatially correlated with reduced soil carbon stocks. This implies future changes in nitrogen deposition may alter the capacity of forests to sequester carbon and offset climate change via interactions with the forest microbiome.