Drought conditions could exacerbate nitrogen and phosphorus imbalances in important European forest tree species

Research paper

Key message 

A large European forest monitoring dataset reveals a pattern of reduced foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations following drought conditions in spruce and pine, and, in the case of P, beech and oak, often exhibiting N:P imbalances. Gradual nutritional imbalance and nutrient deficiency during droughts raise concern for tree vitality and forest carbon sequestration under climate change.

Keywords
Forest nutrition; Drought; Foliage; Deposition; Phosphorus; Nitrogen

Publication
Wohlgemuth, L., Jonard, M., Schmitz, A. et al. Drought conditions could exacerbate nitrogen and phosphorus imbalances in important European forest tree species. Annals of Forest Science 83, 19 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-026-01337-7

Data availability
ICP Forests data can be accessed via data request from the ICP Forests database: https://www.icp-forests.net/data-maps/data-requests.

Handling editor
Rafael Poyatos