Effects of elevated CO2 and N addition on growth and N2 fixation of a legume subshrub (Caragana microphylla Lam.) in temperate grassland in China.

It is well demonstrated that the responses of plants to elevated atmospheric CO(2) concentration are species-specific and dependent on environmental conditions. We investigated the responses of a subshrub legume species, Caragana microphylla Lam., to elevated CO(2) and nitrogen (N) addition using open-top chambers in a semiarid temperate grassland in northern China for three years. Measured variables include leaf photosynthetic rate, shoot biomass, root biomass, symbiotic nitrogenase activity, and leaf N content. Symbiotic nitrogenase activity was determined by the C(2)H(2) reduction method. Elevated CO(2) enhanced photosynthesis and shoot biomass by 83% and 25%, respectively, and the enhancement of shoot biomass was significant only at a high N concentration. In addition, the photosynthetic capacity of C. microphylla did not show down-regulation under elevated CO(2). Elevated CO(2) had no significant effect on root biomass, symbiotic nitrogenase activity and leaf N content. Under elevated CO(2), N addition stimulated photosynthesis and shoot biomass. By contrast, N addition strongly inhibited symbiotic nitrogenase activity and slightly increased leaf N content of C. microphylla under both CO(2) levels, and had no significant effect on root biomass. The effect of elevated CO(2) and N addition on C. microphylla did not show interannual variation, except for the effect of N addition on leaf N content. These results indicate that shoot growth of C. microphylla is more sensitive to elevated CO(2) than is root growth. The stimulation of shoot growth of C. microphylla under elevated CO(2) or N addition is not associated with changes in N(2)-fixation. Additionally, elevated CO(2) and N addition interacted to affect shoot growth of C. microphylla with a stimulatory effect occurring only under combination of these two factors.

Responses of a dominant temperate grassland plant (Leymus chinensis) to elevated carbon dioxide and nitrogen addition in China.

The impact of elevated atmospheric CO(2) concentration on plant communities is varied and strongly dependent on the dominant species response, as well as nutrient conditions. Responses of a dominant species (Leymus chinensis) to elevated CO(2) and N application were examined with open-top chambers in a typical temperate grassland in northern China for 3 yr. The significant effect of elevated CO(2) on L. chinensis growth was mainly reflected in the higher photosynthetic rates, increased leaf number, larger shoot and root biomass, and higher root/shoot (R/S) ratio. Enhancement of root biomass induced by elevated CO(2) was larger (40%) than that of shoot biomass (9%). In contrast, N application had a significant impact on most growth indices examined in this study, which was reflected in the enhanced aboveground growth and depressed belowground growth. Nitrogen application significantly reduced the R/S ratio by an average of 40%. Nitrogen addition significantly enhanced the proportion of senescent biomass and decreased the proportion of green leaf biomass under elevated CO(2). There were no CO(2) x N interactions on most of the measured variables, except on photosynthetic rate and the proportion of aboveground biomass. Plant growth variables showed high interannual variation. These results indicate that belowground growth of L. chinensis is more sensitive to elevated CO(2) than is the aboveground. Aboveground growth of L. chinensis is much more sensitive to N application than to CO(2) enrichment. Therefore, the effect of elevated CO(2) on L. chinensis steppe is more likely to be underestimated if only aboveground parts are considered.