In situ short-term responses of Amazonian understory plants to elevated CO2

In situ short-term responses of Amazonian understory plants to elevated CO2

The response of plants to increasing atmospheric CO2 depends on the ecological context where the plants are found. Several experiments with elevated CO2 (eCO2) have been done worldwide, but the Amazonian forest understory has been neglected. As the central Amazon is limited by light and phosphorus, understanding how understory responds to eCO2 is important for foreseeing how the forest will function in the future. In the understory of a natural forest in the Central Amazon, we installed four open-top chambers as control replicates and another four under eCO2 (+250 ppm above ambient levels). Under eCO2, we observed increases in carbon assimilation rate (67%), maximum electron transport rate (19%), quantum yield (56%), and water use efficiency (78%). We also detected an increase in leaf area (51%) and stem diameter increment (65%). Central Amazon understory responded positively to eCO2 by increasing their ability to capture and use light and the extra primary productivity was allocated to supporting more leaf and conducting tissues. The increment in leaf area while maintaining transpiration rates suggests that the understory will increase its contribution to evapotranspiration. Therefore, this forest might be less resistant in the future to extreme drought, as no reduction in transpiration rates were detected.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Damasceno, Amanda Rayane, Garcia, Sabrina, Aleixo, Izabela Fonseca, Menezes, Juliane Cristina Gomes, Pereira, Iokanam Sales, De Kauwe, Martin G., Ferrer, Vanessa Rodrigues, Fleischer, Katrin, Grams, Thorsten E.E., Guedes, Alacimar V., Hartley, Iain Paul, Kruijt, Bart, Lugli, Laynara Figueiredo, Martins, Nathielly Pires, Norby, Richard J., Pires-Santos, Julyane Stephanie, Portela, Bruno Takeshi Tanaka, Rammig, Anja, de Oliveira, Leonardo Ramos, Santana, Flávia Delgado, Santos, Yago Rodrigues, de Souza, Crisvaldo Cássio Silva, Ushida, Gabriela, Lapola, David Montenegro, Quesada, Carlos Alberto Nobre, Domingues, Tomas Ferreira
Format: Article/Letter to editor biblioteca
Language:English
Subjects:CO enrichment, apparent photosynthetic quantum yield, leaf area, open-top chambers, photosynthesis, tropical forest, water-use efficiency,
Online Access:https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/in-situ-short-term-responses-of-amazonian-understory-plants-to-el
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Summary:The response of plants to increasing atmospheric CO2 depends on the ecological context where the plants are found. Several experiments with elevated CO2 (eCO2) have been done worldwide, but the Amazonian forest understory has been neglected. As the central Amazon is limited by light and phosphorus, understanding how understory responds to eCO2 is important for foreseeing how the forest will function in the future. In the understory of a natural forest in the Central Amazon, we installed four open-top chambers as control replicates and another four under eCO2 (+250 ppm above ambient levels). Under eCO2, we observed increases in carbon assimilation rate (67%), maximum electron transport rate (19%), quantum yield (56%), and water use efficiency (78%). We also detected an increase in leaf area (51%) and stem diameter increment (65%). Central Amazon understory responded positively to eCO2 by increasing their ability to capture and use light and the extra primary productivity was allocated to supporting more leaf and conducting tissues. The increment in leaf area while maintaining transpiration rates suggests that the understory will increase its contribution to evapotranspiration. Therefore, this forest might be less resistant in the future to extreme drought, as no reduction in transpiration rates were detected.

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