Abstract
Two-year-old sweet chestnut trees were grown outside in normal or double CO2 atmospheric concentration. In spring and in autumn of two growing seasons, a six day labelling pulse of14C labelled CO2 was used to follow the carbon assimilation and distribution in the plant-soil system. Doubling atmospheric CO2 had a significant effect on the tree net carbon uptake. A large proportion of the additional C uptake was ‘lost’ through the root system. This suggests that increased C uptake under elevated CO2 conditions increases C cycling without necessarily increasing C storage in the plant. Total root derived material represented a significant amount of the ‘extra-assimilated’ carbon due to the CO2 treatment and was strongly correlated with the phenological stage of the tree. Increasing root rhizodeposition led to a stimulation of microbial activity, particularly near the end of the growing season. When plant rhizodeposition was expressed as a function of the root dry weight, the effect of increasing CO2 resulted in a higher root activity. The C to N ratios were significantly higher for trees grown under elevated CO2 except for the fine root compartment. An evaluation of the plant-soil system nitrogen dynamics showed, during the second season of CO2 treatment, a decrease of soil N mineralization rate and total N uptake for trees grown at elevated CO2 levels.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bokhari U G, Coleman D C and Rubink A 1979 Chemistry of root exudates and rhizosphere soils of prairie plants. Can. J. Bot. 57, 1473–1477.
Bottner P and Warembourg F 1976 Method for simultaneous measurement of total and radioactive carbon in soils, soils extracts and plant material. Plant and Soil 45, 273–277.
Bottner P and Billès G 1987 La rhizosphere: site d'interactions biologiques. Rev. Ecol. Biol. 7, 71–78
Bremmer J M 1965 Exchangeable ammonium, nitrate by steam distillation methods.In Methods for Soil Analysis. Part 2. Ed. C A Black pp 1191–1206. American Society of Agronomy, Madison.
Brown K R and Higginbotham K O 1986 Effects of carbon dioxide enrichment and nitrogen supply on growth of boreal tree seedlings. Tree Physiol. 2, 223–231.
Brown K.R., 1991. Carbon dioxide enrichment accelerates the decline in nutrient status and relative growth rate ofPopulus tremuloides Michx seedlings. Tree Physiol. 8, 161–173.
Chaussod R, Nicholardot B and Catroux G 1986 Mesure en routine de la biomasse microbienne des sols par la méthode de fumigation au chloroforme. Sci. Sol 2, 201–211.
Cheng W, Coleman D C, Caroll C R and Hoffman C A 1993 In situ measurement of root respiration and soluble C concentrations in the rhizosphere. Soil Biol. Biochem. 25, 1189–1193.
Cromer R N and Jarvis P G 1990 Growth and biomass partitioning inEucalyptus grandis seedings in response to nitrogen supply. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 17, 503–515.
Eamus D and Jarvis P G 1989 The direct effects of increase in the global atmospheric CO2 concentration on natural and commercial temperate trees and forest. Adv. Ecol. Res. 19, 1–55.
El Kohen A, Pontailler J Y and Mousseau M 1991 Effet d'un doublement du CO2 atmosphérique sur la respiration à l'obscurité de jeunes plants de châtaigniers (Castanea sativa Mill.). C. R. Acad. Sci. 312, 477–481.
El Kohen A, Rouhier H and Mousseau M 1992 Changes in dry weight and nitrogen partitioning induced by elevated CO2 depend on soil nutrient availability in sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.). Ann. Sci. For. 49, 83–90.
Frascaria N 1991 Variabilité génétique d'un arbre forestier: le châtaignier (Castanea sativa Mill.), Doct. Sciences, 123 p., Univ. Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.
Geijn S C van de and Veen J A van 1993 Implications of increased carbon dioxide levels for carbon input and turn over in soils. Vegetatio 104/105, 283–292.
Helal H M and Sauerbeck D 1989 Carbon turnover in the rhizosphere. Z. Pflanzenernaehr. Bodenkd. 152, 211–216.
Hollinger D Y 1987 Gas exchange and dry matter allocation responses to elevation of atmospheric CO2 concentration in seedlings of three tree species. Tree Physiol. 3, 193–202.
Johanson G 1992 Release of organic C from growing roots of meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis L.). Soil Biol. Biochem. 24, 427–433.
Kimball B A 1983 Carbon dioxide and agricultural yieid. An assemblage and analysis of 430 prior observations. Agron. J. 75, 779–788.
Körner C and Arnone III J A 1992 Responses to elevated carbon dioxide in artificial tropical ecosystems. Science 257, 1672–1675.
Kuikman P J, Jansen A G, Van Veen J A and Zehnder A J B 1990 Protozoan predation and the turnover of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in the presence of plants. Biol. Fertil. Soils 10, 22–28.
Lemon E R 1983 CO2 and plants: The response of plants to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Westview press, Boulder, CO.
Martens R 1985 Limitations in the application of the fumigation technique for biomass estimations in amended soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22, 141–147.
Mousseau M and Enoch Z H 1989 Carbon dioxide enrichment reduces shoot growth in sweet chestnut seedlings (Castanea sativa Mill.). Plant Cell Environ. 12, 927–934.
Mousseau M 1993 Effects of elevated CO2 on growth, photosynthesis and respiration of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.). Vegetatio (In press).
Norby R J, O'Neill E G and Luxmoore R J 1986 Effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on the growth and nutrition ofQuercus alba seedlings in nutrient poor soil. Plant Physiol. 82, 83–89.
Norby R J and O'Neill E G 1989 Growth dynamics and water use of seedlings ofQuercus alba L. in CO2-enriched atmospheres. New Phytol. 111, 491–500.
Norby R J and O'Neill E G 1991 Leaf area compensation and nutrient interactions in CO2 enriched seedlings of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.). New Phytol. 117, 515–528.
Norby R J, Gunderson C A, Wullschleger S D, O'Neill E G and McCracken M K 1992 Productivity and compensatory responses of yellow-poplar trees in elevated CO2. Nature 357, 322–324.
O'Neill E G, Luxmoore R J and Norby R J 1987 Increase in mycorrhizal colonisation and seedlings growth inPinus echinata andQuercus alba in an enriched CO2 atmosphere. Can. J. For. Res. 17, 878–883.
Overdieck D 1990 Effects of elevated CO2-concentration levels on nutrient content of herbaceous and woody plants.In The Greenhouse Effect and Primary Productivity in European Agro-Ecosystem. Eds. D Goudriaan, H van Keulen and H van Leer. pp 31–37 Pudoc, Wageningen.
Schneider A and Schmitz K 1989 Seasonal course of translocation and distribution of14C-labelled photoassimilate in young trees ofLarix decudua Mill. Trees 4, 185–191.
Sparling G P and West A W 1988 A direct extraction method to estimate soil microbial biomass C: calibration in situ using microbial respiration and14C labelled cells. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20, 337–343.
Strain B R and Thomas R B 1992 Field measurements of CO2 enhancement and climate change in natural vegetation. Water Air Soil Pollut. 64, 45–60
Swinnen J 1993 Rhizodeposition and turnover of root-derived organic material in barley and wheat under conventional and integrated management. Agric. Ecosystems Environ (In press).
Texier M and Billès G 1990 The role of the rhizosphere on C and N cycles in a plant-soil-system. Symbiosis 9, 117–123.
Van Veen J A, Liljeroth E, Lekkerkerk L J A and Geijn S C van de 1991 Carbon fluxes in plant-soil systems at elevated atmospheric CO2 levels. Ecol. Appl. 1 (2), 175–181.
Warembourg F R and Billès G 1979 Estimating carbon transfers in plant rhizosphere.In The Soil-Root Interface. pp 102–196. Eds. J L Harley and R S Russell. Academic Press, London.
Williams W E, Garbutt K, Bazzaz F A and Vitousek P M 1986 The response of plants to elevated CO2. IV. Two deciduous tree communities. Oecologia 69, 454–459.
Zak D R, Pregitzer K S, Curtis P S, Teeri J A, Fogel R and Randlett D 1993 Elevated atmospheric CO2 and feedback between carbon and nitrogen cycles. Plant and Soil 151, 105–117.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rouhier, H., Billès, G., El Kohen, A. et al. Effect of elevated CO2 on carbon and nitrogen distribution within a tree (Castanea sativa Mill.) — soil system. Plant Soil 162, 281–292 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01347715
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01347715