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Age, allocation and availability of nonstructural carbon in mature red maple trees
Author(s) -
Carbone Mariah S.,
Czimczik Claudia I.,
Keenan Trevor F.,
Murakami Paula F.,
Pederson Neil,
Schaberg Paul G.,
Xu Xiaomei,
Richardson Andrew D.
Publication year - 2013
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/nph.12448
Subject(s) - photosynthesis , biology , maple , botany , carbon fibers , metabolism , growing season , horticulture , mathematics , biochemistry , algorithm , composite number
Summary The allocation of nonstructural carbon ( NSC ) to growth, metabolism and storage remains poorly understood, but is critical for the prediction of stress tolerance and mortality. We used the radiocarbon ( 14 C ) ‘bomb spike’ as a tracer of substrate and age of carbon in stemwood NSC , CO 2 emitted by stems, tree ring cellulose and stump sprouts regenerated following harvesting in mature red maple trees. We addressed the following questions: which factors influence the age of stemwood NSC ?; to what extent is stored vs new NSC used for metabolism and growth?; and, is older, stored NSC available for use? The mean age of extracted stemwood NSC was 10 yr. More vigorous trees had both larger and younger stemwood NSC pools. NSC used to support metabolism (stem CO 2 ) was 1–2 yr old in spring before leaves emerged, but reflected current‐year photosynthetic products in late summer. The tree ring cellulose 14 C age was 0.9 yr older than direct ring counts. Stump sprouts were formed from NSC up to 17 yr old. Thus, younger NSC is preferentially used for growth and day‐to‐day metabolic demands. More recently stored NSC contributes to annual ring growth and metabolism in the dormant season, yet decade‐old and older NSC is accessible for regrowth.