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Elevated CO2 enhances the growth of hybrid larch F1 (Larix gmelinii var. japonica × L. kaempferi) seedlings and changes its biomass allocation

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Elevated CO 2 enhances the photosynthesis and growth of hybrid larch F 1 seedlings. However, elevated CO 2 -induced change of tree shape may have risk to the other environmental stresses.

Abstract

The hybrid larch F1 (Larix gmelinii var. japonica × L. kaempferi) is one of the most promising species for timber production as well as absorption of atmospheric CO2. To assess the ability of this species in the future high CO2 environment, we investigated the growth and photosynthetic response of hybrid larch F1 seedlings to elevated CO2 concentration. Three-year-old seedlings of hybrid larch F1 were grown on fertile brown forest soil or infertile volcanic ash soil, and exposed to 500 μmol mol−1 CO2 in a free-air CO2 enrichment system located in northern Japan for two growing seasons. Regardless of soil type, the exposure to elevated CO2 did not affect photosynthetic traits in the first and second growing seasons; a higher net photosynthetic rate was maintained under elevated CO2. Growth of the seedlings under elevated CO2 was greater than that under ambient CO2. We found that elevated CO2 induced a change in the shape of seedlings: small roots, slender-shaped stems and long-shoots. These results suggest that elevated CO2 stimulates the growth of hybrid larch F1, although the change in tree shape may increase the risk of other stresses, such as strong winds, heavy snow, and nutrient deficiency.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are greatly indebted to Mr. M. Imori (Silviculture and Forest Ecological Studies, Hokkaido University) for his technical support. This study was supported partly by Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through the programs of a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (24710027, to M. Watanabe), and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (21114008, to T. Koike), and by Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council through its project study of Development of Mitigation and Adaptation Techniques to Global Warming in the Sectors of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (to K. Kita).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author contribution statement

MW promoted this study, determined photosynthetic traits, analyzed all the data, and wrote the entire manuscript. MQ and EN worked for determination of biomass, and discussed data interpretation. KK prepared seedlings of hybrid larch F1 for this study, and discussed data interpretation. KT and FS managed the experimental system for CO2 fumigation. TK is representative person of this project, and proposed the concept of this study, and discussed data interpretation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Silviculture and Forest Ecological Studies, Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan

    Makoto Watanabe, Qiaozhi Mao, Eka Novriyanti & Takayoshi Koike

  2. Forestry Research Institute, Hokkaido Research Organization, Bibai, 079-0198, Japan

    Kazuhito Kita

  3. Forest Research Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0809, Japan

    Kentaro Takagi & Fuyuki Satoh

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  1. Makoto Watanabe
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  2. Qiaozhi Mao
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  3. Eka Novriyanti
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  4. Kazuhito Kita
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  7. Takayoshi Koike
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Correspondence to Takayoshi Koike.

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Communicated by M. Buckeridge.

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Watanabe, M., Mao, Q., Novriyanti, E. et al. Elevated CO2 enhances the growth of hybrid larch F1 (Larix gmelinii var. japonica × L. kaempferi) seedlings and changes its biomass allocation. Trees 27, 1647–1655 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0912-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0912-y

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