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Effects of CO 2 enrichment on growth partitioning of Chloris gayana in the arid environment of the UAE
Author(s) -
Ksiksi Taoufik,
Youssef Tarek
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
grassland science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.388
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1744-697X
pISSN - 1744-6961
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-697x.2010.00192.x
Subject(s) - chloris gayana , carbon dioxide , shoot , biomass (ecology) , biology , agronomy , botany , environmental science , ecology , dry matter
Grass species are impacted by increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Grass species such as rhodesgrass (C hloris gayana ) respond in a variety of ways to CO 2 enrichment. Some species spend more resources in the above‐ground parts while others invest in below root system. The extent of growth responses and growth portioning in C. gayana as affected by increases in CO 2 was assessed. Pot trials were set up to compare plant growth parameters (e.g. plant height and number of leaves) between conditions mimicking the ambient (about 350 ppm) and enriched (650 ppm) CO 2 concentrations. Plants grown under the high CO 2 concentration had significantly higher plant height than those grown under the ambient CO 2 concentration for days 8 and 18 and to some extent for day 45. Plants grown under CO 2 enrichment, however, had a lower number of leaves than those grown under the ambient CO 2 level 28 days into the trial and to some extent on day 31. Overall, plants grown under CO 2 enrichment had a lower shoot/root ratio than those grown under ambient CO 2 levels. It is believed that biomass (shoots and roots) allocation into reproductive growth was a key phenomenon affecting C. gayana growth.