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Effects of UV-B radiation on terrestrial plants and ecosystems: interaction with CO2 enrichment

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UV-B and Biosphere

Part of the book series: Advances in vegetation science ((AIVS,volume 17))

Abstract

UV-B radiation is just one of the environmental factors, that affect plant growth. It is now widely accepted that realistic assessment of plant responses to enhanced UV-B should be performed at sufficiently high Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), preferably under field conditions. This will often imply, that responses of plants to enhanced UV-B in the field will be assessed under simultaneous water shortage, nutrient deficiency and variation of temperature. Since atmospheric CO2 enrichment, global warming and increasing UV-B radiation represent components of global climatic change, interactions of UV-B with CO2 enrichment and temperature are particularly relevant. Only few relevant UV-B × CO2 interaction studies have been published. Most of these studies refer to greenhouse experiments. We report a significant CO2 × UV-B interaction for the total plant dry weight and root dry weight of the C3-grass Elymus athericus. At elevated CO2 (720 μmol mol-1), plant growth was much less reduced by enhanced UV-B than at ambient atmospheric CO2 although there were significant (positive) CO2 effects and (negative) UV-B effects on plant growth. Most other CO2 × UV-B studies do not report significant interactions on total plant biomass. This lack of CO2 × UV-B interactions may result from the fact that primary metabolic targets for CO2 and UVB are different.

UV-B and CO2 may differentially affect plant morphogenetic parameters: biomass allocation, branching, flowering, leaf thickness, emergence and senescence. Such more subtle interactions between CO2 and UV-B need careful and long term experimentation to be detected. In the case of no significant CO2 × UV-B interactions, combined CO2 and UV-B effects will be additive. Plants differ in their response to CO2 and UV-B, they respond in general positively to elevated CO2 and negatively to enhanced UV-B. Moreover, plant species differ in their responsiveness to CO2 and UV-B. Therefore, even in case of additive CO2 and UV-B effects, plant competitive relationships may change markedly under current climatic change with simultaneous enhanced atmospheric CO2 and solar UV-B radiation.

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Rozema, J., Lenssen, G.M., van de Staaij, J.W.M., Tosserams, M., Visser, A.J., Broekman, R.A. (1997). Effects of UV-B radiation on terrestrial plants and ecosystems: interaction with CO2 enrichment. In: Rozema, J., Gieskes, W.W.C., Van De Geijn, S.C., Nolan, C., De Boois, H. (eds) UV-B and Biosphere. Advances in vegetation science, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5718-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5718-6_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6411-8

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