Response of photosynthesis, growth and water relations of a savannah-adapted tree and grass grown across high to low CO2
Date
2019
Authors
Quirk, Joe
Bellasio, Chandra
Johnson, David A.
Beerling, D J
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academic Press
Abstract
• Background and Aims By the year 2100, atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]a) could reach 800 ppm, having
risen from ~200 ppm since the Neogene, beginning ~24 Myr ago. Changing [CO2]a affects plant carbon–water
balance, with implications for growth, drought tolerance and vegetation shifts. The evolution of C4 photosynthesis
improved plant hydraulic function under low [CO2]a and preluded the establishment of savannahs, characterized
by rapid transitions between open C4-dominated grassland with scattered trees and closed forest. Understanding
directional vegetation trends in response to environmental change will require modelling. But models are often eparameterized with characteristics observed in plants under current climatic conditions, necessitating experimental quantification of the mechanistic underpinnings of plant acclimation to [CO2]a.
• Methods We measured growth, photosynthesis and plant–water relations, within wetting–drying cycles, of a
C3
tree (Vachellia karroo, an acacia) and a C4
grass (Eragrostis curvula) grown at 200, 400 or 800 ppm [CO2]a. We investigated the mechanistic linkages between trait responses to [CO2]a under moderate soil drying, and photosynthetic characteristics.
• Key results For V. karroo, higher [CO2]a increased assimilation, foliar carbon:nitrogen, biomass and leaf starch, but decreased stomatal conductance and root starch. For Eragrostis, higher [CO2]a decreased C:N, did not affect assimilation, biomass or starch, and markedly decreased stomatal conductance. Together, this meant that C4 advantages in efficient water-use over the tree were maintained with rising [CO2]a.
• Conclusions Acacia and Eragrostis acclimated differently to [CO2]a, with implications for their respective responses
to water limitation and environmental change. Our findings question the carbon-centric focus on factors limiting assimilation with changing [CO2]a, how they are predicted and their role in determining productivity.
We emphasize the continuing importance of water-conserving strategies in the assimilation response of savannah plants to rising [CO2]a.
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Source
Annals of Botany
Type
Journal article
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DOI
10.1093/aob/mcz048
Restricted until
2037-12-31