How does climate change influence the planet’s nitrogen cycle? This is what a recent study published in Nitrogen Cycling hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated climate change’s impact on Earth’s nitrogen cycle and the long-term consequences, including ecological, biological, and food production. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the long-term effects of climate change and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.
For the study, the researchers conducted a literature review on primary climate change drivers, including carbon dioxide levels, rising temperatures, and altered water levels, with a specific focus on how these drivers influence global nitrogen levels, which accounts for approximately 78 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers also discussed what future studies should focus on, including the use of AI and machine learning to potentially examine nitrogen forest models with a combination of remote sensing, field work, and models. In the end, the researchers concluded that rising carbon dioxide levels, increased temperatures, and altered water levels are all influencing global nitrogen cycles. However, they note that a lack of knowledge makes developing prediction models difficult.
Credit: Miao Zheng, Qin Huang, Jinglan Cui & Baojing Gu
“In a warming world, nitrogen is becoming a make or break factor for both food security and environmental health,” said Dr. Miao Zheng, who is a researcher at Zhejiang University and lead author of the study. “Our study shows that climate change is reshaping nitrogen cycles in ways that can either support sustainable development or push ecosystems beyond critical thresholds.”
This study comes as climate change continues to ravage the planet with more extreme weather, including stronger and more frequent hurricanes and record summer temperatures. Therefore, studies like this can help reinforce the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change before it’s too late.
What new insight into climate change and Earth’s nitrogen cycle will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Nitrogen Cycling, EurekAlert!
