Increasing CO2 accelerates root growth and enhances water acquisition during early stages of development in Larrea tridentata

doi:10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00791.x

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Wiley InterScience

New Phytologist

Volume 159 Issue 1, Pages 175 - 184

Published Online: 12 Jun 2003

Published on behalf of the New Phytologist Trust

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Increasing CO₂ accelerates root growth and enhances water acquisition during early stages of development in Larrea tridentata

D. Obrist ¹ and J. A. Arnone III ²

¹ Environmental and Resource Sciences, Mail Stop 370, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557; ² Desert Research Institute, Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, 2215, Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512, USA

Author for correspondence: D. Obrist Tel: +1 (775) 784 1484 Fax: +1 (775) 673 4583 Email: dobrist@cabnr.unr.edu

KEYWORDS

root production • CO₂ enrichment • Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) • soil water uptake • root plasticity

Summary

•
Stimulation of root growth under elevated CO₂ has been hypothesized to enhance soil water uptake under water-limiting conditions. The objectives of this study were to quantify the effects of rising CO₂ on root development and soil water uptake in Larrea tridentata and to quantify root proliferation into small water patches.
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Seedling communities of L. tridentata were grown in rhizotrons under controlled environmental conditions at three CO₂ concentrations (280, 360, and 600 µl l⁻¹). Patches of water were applied to small areas of the root systems in the rhizotrons and to L. tridentata shrubs in the field.
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Rising CO₂ significantly stimulated root length production, but only in the lower half of the soil profile. Stimulation of root production led to faster depletion of soil water. Neither mature shrubs nor seedlings responded to water-enriched soil patches via root proliferation.
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The results of our study indicate that rising CO₂ may accelerate seedling root growth in L. tridentata, could lead to proportionally greater investment of roots in deeper soil layers and may enhance water acquisition.