Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

We assessed the effects of doubling atmospheric CO2 concentration, [CO2], on C and N allocation within pedunculate oak plants (Quercus robur L.) grown in containers under optimal water supply. A short-term dual 13CO2 and 15NO3− labelling experiment was carried out when the plants had formed their third growing flush. The 22-week exposure to 700 μl l−1 [CO2] stimulated plant growth and biomass accumulation (+53% as compared with the 350 μl l−1 [CO2] treatment) but decreased the root/shoot biomass ratio (-23%) and specific leaf area (-18%). Moreover, there was an increase in net CO2 assimilation rate (+37% on a leaf dry weight basis; +71% on a leaf area basis), and a decrease in both above- and below-ground CO2 respiration rates (-32 and -26%, respectively, on a dry mass basis) under el[...]

We assessed the effects of doubling atmospheric CO2 concentration, [CO2], on C and N allocation within pedunculate oak plants (Quercus robur L.) grown in containers under optimal water supply. A short-term dual 13CO2 and 15NO3− labelling experiment was carried out when the plants had formed their third growing flush. The 22-week exposure to 700 μl l−1 [CO2] stimulated plant growth and biomass accumulation (+53% as compared with the 350 μl l−1 [CO2] treatment) but decreased the root/shoot biomass ratio (-23%) and specific leaf area (-18%). Moreover, there was an increase in net CO2 assimilation rate (+37% on a leaf dry weight basis; +71% on a leaf area basis), and a decrease in both above- and below-ground CO2 respiration rates (-32 and -26%, respectively, on a dry mass basis) under elevated [CO2]. 13C acquisition, expressed on a plant mass basis or on a plant leaf area basis, was also markedly stimulated under elevated [CO2] both after the 12-h 13CO2 pulse phase and after the 60-h chase phase. Plant N content was increased under elevated CO2 (+36%), but not enough to compensate for the increase in plant C content (+53%). Thus, the plant C/N ratio was increased (+13%) and plant N concentration was decreased (-11%). There was no effect of elevated [CO2] on fine root-specific 15N uptake (amount of recently assimilated 15N per unit fine root dry mass), suggesting that modifications of plant N pools were merely linked to root size and not to root function. N concentration was decreased in the leaves of the first and second growing flushes and in the coarse roots, whereas it was unaffected by [CO2] in the stem and in the actively growing organs (fine roots and leaves of the third growth flush). Furthermore, leaf N content per unit area was unaffected by [CO2]. These results are consistent with the short-term optimization of N distribution within the plants with respect to growth and photosynthesis. Such an optimization might be achieved at the expense of the N pools in storage compartments (coarse roots, leaves of the first and second growth flushes). After the 60-h 13C chase phase, leaves of the first and second growth flushes were almost completely depleted in recent 13C under ambient [CO2], whereas these leaves retained important amounts of recently assimilated 13C (carbohydrate reserves?) under elevated [CO2].