Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Seasonal biomass allocation in a boreal perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under elevated temperature and CO2 with varying water regimes

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Plant Growth Regulation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze and model how biomass is allocated to the leaves, stems, and roots of perennial grass (reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinacea L., hereafter RCG) under elevated temperature (ET) (+approx. 3 °C) and CO2 (approx. 700 μmol mol−1) and with variable groundwater levels (high to low water levels) in a boreal environment. For this purpose, RCG plants were grown in environmentally controlled chambers over two growing seasons (April–September of 2009 and 2010), and the plant organ biomass (leaves, stems, and roots) was measured seven times over the entire growing season. The results showed that biomass production was mainly allocated to the leaves (LMF) and stems (SMF) early in the growing season, to the stems in the middle of the growing season, and to the roots (RMF) later in the growing season. Compared to ambient conditions, ET treatments increased LMF and SMF, and decreased RMF over the growing season under well-water conditions. Under low groundwater level, ET treatments decreased LMF and increased RMF throughout the growing season, and increased SMF in early periods and then decreased later in the growing season. CO2 enrichment did not significantly affect the seasonal allocation pattern between plant organs. The effect of the groundwater level on biomass allocation was stronger than that of the climatic treatments. In conclusion, plant phenology controlled the seasonal course of biomass allocation in RCG and climatic treatments affected biomass allocation to each of the three plant organs, while the direction and extent of climate-related changes in biomass allocation depended on the availability of groundwater. The influence of groundwater level appeared to be crucial for the carbon gain regarding the production of RCG biomass for energy purpose and the concurrent sequestration of carbon in soils under changing climate in the mire sites used to cultivate RCG.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrews M, Raven JA, Sprent JI (2001) Environmental effects on dry matter partitioning between shoot and root of crop plants: relations with growth and shoot protein concentration. Ann Appl Biol 138:57–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asaeda T, Karunaratne S (2000) Dynamic modeling of the growth of Phragmites australis: model description. Aquat Bot 67:301–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom AJ, Chapin FS III, Mooney HA (1985) Resource limitation in plants—an economic analogy. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 16:363–392

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorrepaal E, Toet S, Van Logtestijn RSP, Elferra SE, van de Weg MJ, Callaghan TV, Aerts R (2009) Carbon respiration from subsurface peat accelerated by climate warming in the subarctic. Nature 460:616–619

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan JW, Wang K, Harris W, Zhong HP, Hu ZM, Han B, Zhang WY, Wang JB (2009) Allocation of vegetation biomass across a climate-related gradient in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. J Arid Environ 73:521–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavito ME, Curtis PS, Mikkelsen TN, Jakobsen I (2000) Atmospheric CO2 and mycorrhiza effects on biomass allocation and nutrient uptake of nodulated pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants. J Exp Bot 52:1931–1938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ge ZM, Kellomäki S, Zhou X, Wang KY, Martikainen PJ (2012a) Seasonal physiological responses and biomass growth in a bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under elevated temperature and CO2, subjected to different water regimes in boreal conditions. BioEnergy Res 5:637–648

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ge ZM, Zhou X, Kellomäki S, Zhang C, Peltola H, Martikainen PJ, Wang KY (2012b) Acclimation of photosynthesis in a boreal grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under different temperature, CO2, and soil water regimes. Photosynthetica 50(1):141–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ge ZM, Zhou X, Kellomäki S, Biasi C, Wang KY, Martikainen PJ (2012c) Carbon assimilation and allocation (13C labeling) in a boreal perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) subjected to elevated temperature and CO2 through a growing season. Env Exp Bot 75:150–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gorham E (1991) Northern peatlands: role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to climatic warming. Ecol Appl 1:182–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilbert DW (1990) Optimization of plant root: shoot ratios and internal nitrogen concentration. Ann Bot 66(1):91–99

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hill PW, Marshall C, Williams GG, Blum H, Harmens H, Jones DL, Farrar JF (2007) The fate of photosynthetically fixed carbon in Lolium perenne grassland as modified by elevated CO2 and sward management. New Phytol 173:766–777

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hirel B, Tétu T, Lea PJ, Dubois F (2011) Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crops for sustainable agriculture. Sustainability 3:1452–1485

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang BR, Fu JM (2000) Photosynthesis, respiration, and carbon allocation of two cool-season perennial grasses in response to surface soil drying. Plant Soil 27(1–2):17–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2007) Climate change. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor Mand Miller HL (eds) Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment eeport of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kätterer T, Andrén O (1999) Growth dynamics of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) and its allocation of biomass and nitrogen below ground in a field receiving daily irrigation and fertilization. Nutr Cycl Agroecosystems 54:21–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellomäki S, Wang KY (2001) Growth and resource use of birch seedlings under elevated carbon dioxide and temperature. Ann Bot 87:669–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellomäki S, Strandman H, Nuutinen T, Peltola H, Korhonen KT, Väisänen H (2005) Adaptation of forest ecosystems, forests and forestry to climate change. FINADAPT working paper 4, Finnish Environment Institute Mimeographs 334, Helsinki

  • Lambers H, Chapin III FS, Pons TL (2003) Plant physiological ecology, Spring, New York, pp 307–314

  • Long SP, Ainsworth EA, Rogers A, Ort DR (2004) Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide: plants FACE Future. Annu Rev Plant Biol 55:591–628

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore KJ, Moser LE (1995) Quantifying developmental morphology of perennial grasses. Crop Sci 35:37–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morison JIL, Lawlor DW (1999) Interactions between increasing CO2 concentration and temperature on plant growth. Plant Cell Environ 22:659–682

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pahkala K, Aalto M, Isolahti M, Poikola J, Jauhiainen L (2008) Large-scale energy grass farming for power plants—a case study from Ostrobothnia, Finland. Biomass Bioenergy 32:1009–1015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ping XY, Zhou GS, Sun JS (2010) Advances in the study of photsynthate allocation and its controls. Chin J Plant Ecol 34(1):100–111

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poorter H, Nagel O (2000) The role of biomass allocation in the growth responses of plants of different levels of light, CO2, nutrients and water: a quantitative review. Aust J Plant Physiol 27:595–607

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poorter H, Niklas KJ, Reich PB, Oleksyn J, Poot P, Mommer L (2012) Biomass allocation to leaves, stems and roots: meta-analyses of interspecific variation and environmental control. New Phytol 193:30–50

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie JT, NeSmith DS (1991) Temperature and crop development. In: Hanks J, Ritchie JT (eds) Modeling plant and soil systems, agronomy monograph 31, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, pp 5–29

  • Roulet NT, Lafleur P, Richard PH, Moore T, Humphreys ER, Bubier JILL (2007) Contemporary carbon balance and late Holocene carbon accumulation in a northern peatland. Glob Change Biol 13:397–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruosteenoja K, Jylhä K, Tuomenvirta H (2005) Climate scenarios for FINADAPT studies of climate change adaptation. FINADAPT working paper 15, Finnish Environmental Institute Mimeographs, Helsinki

  • Sahramaa M, Jauhiainen L (2003) Characterization of development and stem elongation of reed canary grass under northern conditions. Ind Crop Prod 18(2):155–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shurpali NJ, Hyvönen NP, Huttunen JT, Clement RJ, Reichstein M, Nykänen H, Biasi C, Martikainen PJ (2009) Cultivation of a perennial grass for bioenergy on a boreal organic soil-carbon sink or source? Glob Change Biol Bioenergy 1:35–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shurpali NJ, Biasi C, Jokinen S, Hyvönen N, Martikainen PJ (2013) Linking water vapor and CO2 exchange from a perennial bioenergy crop cultivated on a drained organic soil in eastern Finland. Agric For Meteorol 168:47–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith RGB, Brock MA (2007) The ups and downs of life on the edge: the influence of water level fluctuations on biomass allocation in two contrasting aquatic plants. Plant Ecol 188:103–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Soetaert K, Hoffmann M, Meire P, Starink M, Oevelen D, Regenmortel SV, Cox T (2004) Modeling growth and carbon allocation in two reed beds (Phragmites australis) in the Scheldt estuary. Aquat Bot 79:211–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sundh I, Nilsson M, Mikkelä C, Granberg G, Svensson BH (2000) Fluxes of methane and carbon dioxide on peat-mining areas in Sweden. AMBIO 29:499–503

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogel JG, Bond-Lamberty BP, Schuur EAG, Gower ST, Mack MC, O’Connell KEB, Valentine DW, Ruess RW (2008) Carbon allocation in boreal black spruce forests across regions varying in soil temperature and precipitation. Glob Change Biol 14:1503–1516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waddington JM, McNeil P (2002) Peat oxidation in an abandoned cutover peatland. Can J Soil Sci 82:279–286

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waddington JM, Rotenberg PA, Warren FJ (2001) Peat CO2 production in a natural and cutover peatland: implications for restoration. Biogeochemistry 54:115–130

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waddington JM, Warner KD, Kennedy GW (2002) Cutover peatlands: a persistent source of atmospheric CO2. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 16(1):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong S, Kätterer T (2010) Carbon-allocation dynamics in reed canary grass as affected by soil type and fertilization rates in northern Sweden. Acta Agr Scand B-S P 60:24–32

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu ZZ, Zhou GS (2005) Effects of water stress and nocturnal temperature on carbon allocation in the perennial grass, Leymus chinensis. Physiol Plant 123:272–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Ge ZM, Kellomäki S, Wang KY, Gong JN, Zhou X (2013a) Effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on biomass growth and allocation in a boreal bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L.) from young and old cultivations. BioEnergy Res 6(2):651–662

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Kellomäki S, Wang KY, Gong JN, Ge ZM, Zhou X, Strandan H (2013b) Impacts of elevated temperature and CO2 along with varying ground water level on the seasonality of height and biomass growth of a boreal bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L.)—a modeling study. Botony 91(4):260–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou X, Ge ZM, Kellomäki S, Wang KY, Peltola H, Martikainen PJ (2011) Effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on leaf characteristics, photosynthesis and carbon storage in aboveground biomass of a boreal bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under varying water regimes. Glob Change Biol Bioenergy 3:223–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou X, Ge ZM, Kellomäki S, Wang KY, Peltola H, Martikainen PJ, Lemettinen M, Hassinen A, Ikonen R (2012) Multi-objective environment chamber system for studying plant responses to climate change. Photosynthetica 50(1):24–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ziska LH (2001) Growth temperature can alter the temperature dependent stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide in Abutilon theophrasti. Physiol Plant 111:322–328

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Finnish Distinguished Professor Program (FiDiPro) (2008–2012) of the Academy of Finland (No.127299-A5060-06). The environmentally controlled chambers were funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) granted by the State Provincial Office of Eastern Finland. Matti Lemettinen, Alpo Hassinen, and Risto Ikonen, and the Mekrijärvi Research Station, University of Eastern Finland, are thanked for technical assistance and support regarding the experimental infrastructure.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Chao Zhang, Seppo Kellomäki, Jinnan Gong, Yunzhou Qiao & Xiao Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China

    Chao Zhang & Wei Gao

  3. Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-restoration, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China

    Qicheng Zhong, Kaiyun Wang & Jinnan Gong

  4. USDA UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Wei Gao

Authors
  1. Chao Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Seppo Kellomäki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qicheng Zhong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kaiyun Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jinnan Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yunzhou Qiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Xiao Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Wei Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chao Zhang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhang, C., Kellomäki, S., Zhong, Q. et al. Seasonal biomass allocation in a boreal perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under elevated temperature and CO2 with varying water regimes. Plant Growth Regul 74, 153–164 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-014-9907-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-014-9907-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation