Foliar nitrogen concentrations and natural abundance of 15N suggest nitrogen allocation patterns of Douglas-fir and mycorrhizal fungi during development in elevated carbon dioxide concentration and temperature
Abstract
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco (Douglas-fir) seedlings were grown in a 2 × 2 factorial design in enclosed mesocosms at ambient temperature or 3.5 °C above ambient, and at ambient CO2 concentration ([CO2]) or 179 ppm above ambient. Two additional mesocosms were maintained as open controls. We measured the extent of mycorrhizal infection, foliar nitrogen (N) concentrations on both a weight basis (%N) and area basis (Narea), and foliar δ15N signatures (15N/14N ratios) from summer 1993 through summer 1997. Mycorrhizal fungi had colonized nearly all root tips across all treatments by spring 1994. Elevated [CO2] lowered foliar %N but did not affect Narea, whereas elevated temperature increased both foliar %N and Narea. Foliar δ15N was initially –1‰ and dropped by the final harvest to between –4 and –5‰ in the enclosed mesocosms, probably because of transfer of isotopically depleted N from mycorrhizal fungi. Based on the similarity in foliar δ15N among treatments, we conclude that mycorrhizal fungi had similar N allocation patterns across CO2 and temperature treatments. We combined isotopic and Narea data for 1993–94 to calculate fluxes of N for second- and third-year needles. Yearly N influxes were higher in second-year needles than in third-year needles (about 160 and 50% of initial leaf N, respectively), indicating greater sink strength in the younger needles. Influxes of N in second-year needles increased in response to elevated temperature, suggesting increased N supply from soil relative to plant N demands. In the elevated temperature treatments, N effluxes from third-year needles were higher in seedlings in elevated [CO2] than in ambient [CO2], probably because of increased N allocation below ground. We conclude that N allocation patterns shifted in response to the elevated temperature and [CO2] treatments in the seedlings but not in their fungal symbionts.
Department
Earth Systems Research Center
Publication Date
9-1-2001
Journal Title
Tree Physiology
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Hobbie, E.A., D.M. Olszyk, P.T. Rygiewicz, M.G. Johnson, and D.T. Tingey. 2001. Foliar nitrogen concentrations and natural abundance of 15N suggest nitrogen allocation patterns of Douglas-fir and mycorrhizal fungi during development in elevated carbon dioxide concentration and temperature. Tree Physiology 21:1113-1122.