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Response of growth and carbon allocation to elevated CO 2 in young cherry ( Prunus avium L.) saplings in relation to root environment
Author(s) -
KERSTIENS G.,
HAWES C.V.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1994.tb04024.x
Subject(s) - growing season , fertilizer , shoot , nutrient , horticulture , biology , dry weight , prunus , zoology , agronomy , botany , ecology
summary The hypothesis that inadequate rooting volume may reduce the growth stimulation by elevated CO 2 in ported tree seedlings and saplings was tested experimentally and by surveying the literature. One‐year‐old cherry saplings were grown for one season in naturally lit growth chambers in eight combinations of CO 2 concentration (ambient: ambient+ 250 ppm) and root environment (four types), The latter included (1) moderately restrictive pot volume (41) in combination with two levels of fertilizer addition (la. 1b); (2) 10 l pots with total fertilizer content per pot as in treatment la, and (3) 20 l pots with five plants sharing live times the space and nutrient resources of treatment la. Plants were harvested in April, May, June, August and September. The overall mean effect of high CO 2 on plant dry mass by the end of the season was +24%. Interactive effects of root environments and CO 2 concentrations on dry mass were not significant at the 5% level, but repealed measurements of basal stem diameter of individual plants indicated a significant impact of root environment on the response to CO 2 . Overall growth enhancement by elevated CO 2 did not differ significantly between harvests, but it tended to increase during the season in those root environments which restricted growth in ambient CO 2 most strongly (la and 3). The hypothesis was rejected for this experiment. Leaf area and stem height were not affected by any treatment. The variation of carbon allocation to roots and shoots with plant size was very similar in all treatments. Plants grew faster in elevated CO 2 very early in the season, and this resulted in small but significant differences between seasonal patterns of biomass partitioning in ambient and elevated CO 2 . A survey of 33 studies on growth responses of 47 tree species to elevated CO 2 (600–800 ppm) showed that the relative change in biomass was not related to the ratio of plant biomass and pot volume found in either ambient or elevated CO 2 . We conclude that there is no evidence that inadequate pot volume had a negative impact on the stimulation of growth of true species in elevated CO 2 .