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  • Effects of atmospheric CO₂ ...
    Osada, Noriyuki; Onoda, Yusuke; Hikosaka, Kouki

    Oecologia, 09/2010, Volume: 164, Issue: 1
    Journal Article

    Long-term exposure to elevated CO₂ concentration will affect the traits of wild plants in association with other environmental factors. We investigated multiple effects of atmospheric CO₂ concentration, irradiance, and soil N availability on the leaf photosynthetic traits of a herbaceous species, Polygonum sachalinense, growing around natural CO₂ springs in northern Japan. Atmospheric CO₂ concentration and its interaction with irradiance and soil N availability affected several leaf traits. Leaf mass per unit area increased and N per mass decreased with increasing CO₂ and irradiance. Leaf N per area increased with increasing soil N availability at higher CO₂ concentrations. The photosynthetic rate under growth CO₂ conditions increased with increasing irradiance and CO₂, and with increasing soil N at higher CO₂ concentrations. The maximal velocity of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylation (V cmax) was affected by the interaction of CO₂ and soil N, suggesting that down-regulation of photosynthesis at elevated CO₂ was more evident at lower soil N availability. The ratio of the maximum rate of electron transport to V cmax (J max/V cmax) increased with increasing CO₂, suggesting that the plants used N efficiently for photosynthesis at high CO₂ concentrations by changes in N partitioning. To what extent elevated CO₂ influenced plant traits depended on other environmental factors. As wild plants are subject to a wide range of light and nutrient availability, our results highlight the importance of these environmental factors when the effects of elevated CO₂ on plants are evaluated.