Leaf and canopy responses to elevated CO₂ in a pine forest under free-air CO₂ enrichment

Abstract

Physiological responses to elevated CO₂ at the leaf and canopy-level were studied in an intact pine (Pinus taeda) forest ecosystem exposed to elevated CO₂ using a free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) technique. Normalized canopy water-use of trees exposed to elevated CO₂ over an 8-day exposure period was similar to that of trees exposed to current ambient CO₂ under sunny conditions. During a portion of the exposure period when sky conditions were cloudy, CO₂-exposed trees showed minor (≤7%) but significant reductions in relative sap flux density compared to trees under ambient CO₂ conditions. Short-term (minutes) direct stomatal responses to elevated CO₂ were also relatively weak (≈5% reduction in stomatal aperture in response to high CO₂ concentrations). We observed no evidence of adjustment in stomatal conductance in foliage grown under elevated CO₂ for nearly 80 days compared to foliage grown under current ambient CO₂, so intrinsic leaf water-use efficiency at elevated CO₂ was enhanced primarily by direct responses of photosynthesis to CO₂. We did not detect statistical differences in parameters from photosynthetic responses to intercellular CO₂ (A _net-C _i curves) for Pinus taeda foliage grown under elevated CO₂ (550 μmol mol⁻¹) for 50–80 days compared to those for foliage grown under current ambient CO₂ from similar-sized reference trees nearby. In both cases, leaf net photosynthetic rate at 550 μmol mol⁻¹ CO₂ was enhanced by approximately 65% compared to the rate at ambient CO₂ (350 μmol mol⁻¹). A similar level of enhancement under elevated CO₂ was observed for daily photosynthesis under field conditions on a sunny day. While enhancement of photosynthesis by elevated CO₂ during the study period appears to be primarily attributable to direct photosynthetic responses to CO₂ in the pine forest, longer-term CO₂ responses and feedbacks remain to be evaluated.