Elevated carbon dioxide changes soil microbe mix be...(il samples. But elevated CO 2 samples s...)

• an increase in heterotrophic decomposers - microbes that rely on an external food source and break down organic matter to recycle carbon and nitrogen

• an increase in ectomycorrhizal fungi - which gain nutrients by living in association with plant roots and help to provide the plants with essential minerals

• a decrease in fungi that commonly cause disease in plants - perhaps because increased plant growth stimulated by CO₂ makes the plants less hospitable/susceptible to the fungi.

• a significant decrease in nitrate-reducers of the domain bacteria and archaea potentially implicated in ammonium oxidation.

The increased plant growth associated with elevated CO₂ environments has often been observed to be temporary because of the progressive depletion of the element nitrogen from the soil. Such a limitation has not yet been observed at the Rhinelander FACE site.

"Overall, the changes we observed support previously reported increases in biomass turnover rates and sustained availability and translocation of the essential nutrients required for increased plant growth under elevated CO₂," van der Lelie said.

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