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Long‐term exposure to elevated CO 2 and O 3 alters aspen foliar chemistry across developmental stages
Author(s) -
COUTURE J. J.,
HOLESKI L. M.,
LINDROTH R. L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12195
Subject(s) - ecosystem , tropospheric ozone , carbon dioxide , atmospheric chemistry , ozone , ecology , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , climate change , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry , geology
Abstract Anthropogenic activities are altering levels of greenhouse gases to the extent that multiple and diverse ecosystem processes are being affected. Two gases that substantially influence forest health are atmospheric carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) and tropospheric ozone ( O 3 ). Plant chemistry will play an important role in regulating ecosystem processes in future environments, but little information exists about the longitudinal effects of elevated CO 2 and O 3 on phytochemistry, especially for long‐lived species such as trees. To address this need, we analysed foliar chemical data from two genotypes of trembling aspen, P opulus tremuloides , collected over 10 years of exposure to levels of CO 2 and O 3 predicted for the year 2050. Elevated CO 2 and O 3 altered both primary and secondary chemistry, and the magnitude and direction of the responses varied across developmental stages and between aspen genotypes. Our findings suggest that the effects of CO 2 and O 3 on phytochemical traits that influence forest processes will vary over tree developmental stages, highlighting the need to continue long‐term, experimental atmospheric change research.