This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Norby, R. J. Articles by Luxmoore, R. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Norby, R. J. Articles by Luxmoore, R. J. Agricola Articles by Norby, R. J. Articles by Luxmoore, R. J.

Articles

Effects of Atmospheric CO₂ Enrichment on the Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Quercus alba Seedlings in Nutrient-Poor Soil ¹

Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831

One-year-old dormant white oak (Quercus alba L.) seedlings were planted in a nutrient-deficient forest soil and grown for 40 weeks in growth chambers at ambient (362 microliters per liter) or elevated (690 microliters per liter) levels of CO₂. Although all of the seedlings became severely N deficient, CO₂ enrichment enhanced growth by 85%, with the greatest enhancement in root systems. The growth enhancement did not increase the total water use per plant, so water-use efficiency was significantly greater in elevated CO₂. Total uptake of N, S, and B was not affected by CO₂, therefore, tissue concentrations of these nutrients were significantly lower in elevated CO₂. An increase in nutrient-use efficiency with respect to N was apparent in that a greater proportion of the limited N pool in the CO₂-enriched plants was in fine roots and leaves. The uptake of other nutrients increased with CO₂ concentration, and P and K uptake increased in proportion to growth. Increased uptake of P by plants in elevated CO₂ may have been a result of greater proliferation of fine roots and associated mycorrhizae and rhizosphere bacteria stimulating P mineralization. The results demonstrate that a growth response to CO₂ enrichment is possible in nutrient-limited systems, and that the mechanisms of response may include either increased nutrient supply or decreased physiological demand.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D.W. Johnson, B.A. Hungate, P. Dijkstra, G. Hymus, and B. Drake Effects of Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Soils in a Florida Scrub Oak Ecosystem J. Environ. Qual., March 1, 2001; 30(2): 501 - 507. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Chang and V. J. Terwilliger The effects of air pollution on vegetation from a geographic perspective Progress in Physical Geography, March 1, 2000; 24(1): 53 - 74. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Korner and J. A. Arnone III Responses to Elevated Carbon Dioxide in Artificial Tropical Ecosystems Science, September 18, 1992; 257(5077): 1672 - 1675. [Abstract] [PDF]