Responses of woody Cerrado species to rising atmospheric CO2 concentration and water stress: gains and losses

Abstract

The rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) has been accompanied by changes in other environmental factors of global climate change, such as drought. Tracking the early growth of plants under changing conditions can determine their ecophysiological adjustments and the consequences for ecosystem functions. This study investigated long-term ecophysiological responses in three woody Cerrado species: Hymenaea stigonocarpa Mart. ex Hayne, Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil. and Tabebuia aurea (Silva Manso) Benth. and Hook. f. ex S. Moore, grown under ambient and elevated [CO2]. Plants were grown for 515 days at ambient (430 mg dm–3) or elevated [CO2] (700 mg dm–3). Some plants were also subjected to water stress to investigate the synergy between atmospheric [CO2] and soil water availability, and its effect on plant growth. All three species showed an increase in maximum net photosynthesis (PN) and chlorophyll index under high [CO2]. Transpiration decreased in some species under high [CO2] despite daily watering and a corresponding increase in water use efficiency was observed. Plants grown under elevated [CO2] and watered daily had greater leaf area and total biomass production than plants under water stress and ambient [CO2]. The high chlorophyll and PN in cerrado plants grown under elevated [CO2] are an investment in light use and capture and higher Rubisco carboxylation rate, respectively. The elevated [CO2] had a positive influence on biomass accumulation in the cerrado species we studied, as predicted for plants under high [CO2]. So, even with water stress, Cerrado species under elevated [CO2] had better growth.