Tropical forests' CO2 benefits limited by phosphorus availability

Tropical forests, which store 72% of global forest biomass carbon and contribute one-third of global net primary productivity, face uncertainty in their CO2 fertilization effect due to phosphorus limitations. A study using the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model found that phosphorus and nitrogen limitations reduced the CO2 fertilization effect on productivity by up to 46%. Deforestation further offset these benefits by 135% from the 1860s to 2010s.