PLANT PHYSIOLOGY , Vol 107, Issue 1 149-154, Copyright © 1995 by American Society of Plant Biologists
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WHOLE PLANT, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND STRESS PHYSIOLOGY |
Effects of Air Contact on Growth, Inorganic Carbon Sources, and Nitrogen Uptake by an Amphibious Freshwater Macrophyte
T. V. Madsen and M. Breinholt
Department of Plant Ecology, University of Aarhus, Nordlandsvej 68, DK-8240 Risskov, Denmark
Callitriche cophocarpa Sendtner is a heterophyllous amphibious macrophyte
that produces apical rosettes of floating leaves. The importance of air
contact for inorganic carbon and N uptake and for growth was investigated.
Plants were grown with the floating rosette in contact with air of various
humidities (10, 50, and >90% relative humidity) and with the submerged
parts in N-free water at 350 [mu]M free CO2 and the roots in sediment with
low or high NH3-N content. Humidity greatly affected the transpiration
rate, whereas growth rate and N content were unaffected and were comparable
to values measured for fully submerged shoots. Air contact had, however, a
significant impact on growth when the free CO2 concentration in the water
was low. Thus, the growth rate of shoots with air contact was about 3 times
faster than the rate of fully submerged shoots when grown at
air-equilibrium concentration of dissolved free CO2 in the water (16
[mu]M). This difference decreased with increased dissolved free CO2
concentration in the water, and the two shoot types grew at the same rate
when the submerged shoots received >350 [mu]M free CO2. The quantitative
importance of the floating rosette for total carbon uptake declined also
with decreased ratio of floating rosette to total shoot weight. It is
concluded that floating rosettes can enhance the inorganic carbon uptake of
Callitriche. In contrast, air contact is of minor importance for nutrient
transport.