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Effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen on wood structure related to water transport in seedlings of two deciduous broad-leaved tree species

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Abstract

Wood structure might be altered through the physiological responses to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) and nitrogen (N) deposition. We investigated growth, water relations and wood structure of 1-year-old seedlings of two deciduous broad-leaved tree species, Quercus mongolica (oak, a ring-porous species) and Alnus hirsuta (alder, a diffuse-porous species and N2–fixer), grown under a factorial combination of two levels of [CO2] (36 and 72 Pa) and nitrogen supply (N; low and high) for 141 days in phytotron chambers. In oak, there was no significant effect of [CO2] on wood structure, although elevated [CO2] tended to decrease stomatal conductance (g s) and increased water use efficiency regardless of the N treatment. However, high N supply increased root biomass and induced wider earlywood and larger vessels in the secondary xylem in stems, leading to increased hydraulic conductance. In alder, there was significant interactive effect of [CO2] and N on vessel density, and high N supply increased the mean vessel area. Our results suggest that wood structures related to water transport were not markedly altered, although elevated [CO2] induced changes in physiological parameters such as g s and biomass allocation, and that N fertilization had more pronounced effects on non-N2-fixing oak than on N2-fixing alder.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. S. Kitaoka and Ms. H. Taoka for their help in sampling and Mr. M. Tanaka, Mr. K. Mima and Ms. N. Morii for technical assistance. This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Research Revolution 2002 (RR2002) Project from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (17,208,013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hokkaido University Forests, FSC, Sapporo, 060-0809, Japan

    Yoko Watanabe, Kaichiro Sasa & Takayoshi Koike

  2. Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Sapporo, 062-8516, Japan

    Hiroyuki Tobita, Mitsutoshi Kitao & Yutaka Maruyama

  3. Institute of Symbiotic Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu-Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    DongSu Choi & Ryo Funada

  4. Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan

    Takayoshi Koike

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  1. Yoko Watanabe
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  2. Hiroyuki Tobita
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  3. Mitsutoshi Kitao
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Correspondence to Hiroyuki Tobita.

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Communicated by S. Linder.

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Watanabe, Y., Tobita, H., Kitao, M. et al. Effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen on wood structure related to water transport in seedlings of two deciduous broad-leaved tree species. Trees 22, 403–411 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-007-0201-8

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