Climate and human activities mediate the trade-off of plant above- and below-ground C, N and P stocks in typical steppes along the precipitation gradient

Abstract Ongoing human activities and climate change threaten global grasslands, where plant nutrients are essential for ecosystem stability. However, long-term assessments (1985–2022) of above- and below-ground nutrient trade-offs remain limited. Here, we conducted a 37-year study along the precipitation gradient (267–441 mm) to investigate the dynamics and trade-offs of plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Our study found that with increasing local precipitation, above-ground C, N and P contents increased, while below-ground C content declined. The long-term response of plant nutrients varied spatially; the drier north (267 mm) and central region (334 mm) showed increased above-ground C but decreased N and P over time, whereas the opposite pattern occurred in the wetter south (441 mm). Additionally, the trade-off values of plant C, N and P stocks increased with local precipitation, and temporal stability of the N and P trade-off values was lowest in the drier north. Finally, precipitation fluctuation, fertilizer input and per capita GDP were identified as the key drivers of plant above- and below-ground nutrient dynamics in the northern, central and southern regions, respectively. With increasing local precipitation, the effect of climate on trade-off values shifts from negative to positive, whereas the effect of human activities shifts from positive to negative. Our findings highlight that the long-term response of plant nutrients is regulated by local precipitation patterns, through which the precipitation gradient has reshaped plant nutrient regulation by shifting the dominant driver from climatic to human activities factors.