Events

Atmospheric mineral dust is a well-established source of nutrients to marine ecosystems,

yet its contribution to terrestrial plant nutrition has long been underestimated, largely due to

the assumption that nutrient acquisition occurs predominantly through root uptake from

soils. Here, we present evidence from controlled greenhouse experiments under ambient

and elevated CO₂, laboratory simulations of leaf microenvironments, isotopic and

geochemical tracing, and field fertilization experiments conducted in both a Mediterranean

ecosystem and a tropical forest in Puerto Rico, demonstrating that plants can directly

acquire nutrients through their leaf surfaces following atmospheric dust deposition. Using

rare earth elements and Nd isotopes, we distinguish nutrients derived from soils from those

delivered by deposited atmospheric particles. Laboratory simulations show that mildly

acidic leaf surfaces, together with organic acids secreted by leaves, enhance mineral

dissolution and facilitate foliar uptake of dust-borne nutrients. In a pioneering Mediterranean

field experiment explicitly designed to isolate foliar uptake, we quantified the bioavailable

fraction of key nutrients supplied by dust, including P, Fe, Mn, and Cu, and observed clear

enrichment of multiple micronutrients in leaf tissues following dust application. These fieldbased

measurements enabled the construction of a global geospatial framework integrating

dust deposition with soil nutrient fluxes, indicating that dust-derived inputs can constitute a

meaningful fraction of total nutrient supply across large regions, and that during dust

events, short-term foliar inputs can rival or exceed soil-derived fluxes. Complementary field

observations in a tropical forest in Puerto Rico further reveal foliar nutrient responses

consistent with direct dust uptake. Building on these results, we outline a pathway for

incorporating foliar dust uptake into Earth system representations of terrestrial nutrient

cycling by explicitly accounting for atmospheric nutrient inputs at the canopy level and their

interaction with soil-derived fluxes. Together, these findings identify foliar dust uptake as an

overlooked but consequential nutrient acquisition pathway and highlight its relevance in

highly weathered, nutrient-limited tropical forests, where atmospheric inputs may play a

critical role in regulating nutrient availability and carbon–nutrient interactions.