Below-ground carbon allocation in mature beech and spruce trees following long-term, experimentally enhanced O3 exposure in Southern Germany

Christian P. Andersen, Wilma Ritter, Jillian Gregg, Rainer Matyssek, Thorsten E.E. Grams

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20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Canopies of adult European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) were labeled with CO2 depleted in 13C to evaluate carbon allocation belowground. One-half the trees were exposed to elevated O3 for 6 yrs prior to and during the experiment. Soil-gas sampling wells were placed at 8 and 15 cm and soil CO2 was sampled during labeling in mid-late August, 2006. In beech, δ13CO2 at both depths decreased approximately 50 h after labeling, reflecting rapid translocation of fixed C to roots and release through respiration. In spruce, label was detected in fine-root tissue, but there was no evidence of label in δ13CO2. The results show that C fixed in the canopy rapidly reaches respiratory pools in beech roots, and suggest that spruce may allocate very little of recently-fixed carbon into root respiration during late summer. A change in carbon allocation belowground due to long-term O3 exposure was not observed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2604-2609
Number of pages6
JournalEnvironmental Pollution
Volume158
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2010

Keywords

  • Carbon allocation
  • Fagus sylvatica
  • Ozone
  • Picea abies
  • Soil-respired CO
  • δ CO

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