TY - JOUR
T1 - In situ short‐term responses of Amazonian understory plants to elevated CO2
AU - Damasceno, Amanda Rayane
AU - Garcia, Sabrina
AU - Aleixo, Izabela Fonseca
AU - Menezes, Juliane Cristina Gomes
AU - Pereira, Iokanam Sales
AU - Kauwe, Martin G. De
AU - Ferrer, Vanessa Rodrigues
AU - Fleischer, Katrin
AU - Grams, Thorsten E. E.
AU - Guedes, Alacimar V.
AU - Hartley, Iain Paul
AU - Kruijt, Bart
AU - Lugli, Laynara Figueiredo
AU - Martins, Nathielly Pires
AU - Norby, Richard J.
AU - Pires‐Santos, Julyane Stephanie
AU - Portela, Bruno Takeshi Tanaka
AU - Rammig, Anja
AU - Oliveira, Leonardo Ramos de
AU - Santana, Flávia Delgado
AU - Santos, Yago Rodrigues
AU - Souza, Crisvaldo Cássio Silva de
AU - Ushida, Gabriela
AU - Lapola, David Montenegro
AU - Quesada, Carlos Alberto Nobre
AU - Domingues, Tomas Ferreira
PY - 2024/5
Y1 - 2024/5
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
U2 - 10.1111/pce.14842
DO - 10.1111/pce.14842
M3 - Article
SN - 1365-3040
VL - 47
SP - 1865
EP - 1876
JO - Plant, Cell & Environment
JF - Plant, Cell & Environment
IS - 5
ER -