Growth response of Equisetum fluviatile to elevated CO2 and temperature
2002
Ojala, A. | Kankaala, P. | Tulonen, T.
In contrast to crop plants and terrestrial herbaceous plants, aquatic plants have raised only modest interest among scientists working on climate change. However, climate change studies on emergent macrophytes can be justified with their crucial role in the ecosystem functioning of aquatic habitats. Here we present the results of a three-year study on the growth response of Equisetum fluviatile, a prominent littoral species of boreal lakes, to elevated CO2 (doubled to 600-700 ppm) and temperature (increased 2.5-3 degrees C). Our findings reveal that temperature effects on this species were far more distinct than the effects of CO2, and no interactions of temperature and CO2 were observed. Temperature increase had a positive effect on the emergence of shoots and shoot length growth as well as on the maximum length of shoots. Maximum biomass was also positively affected by temperature. The enhancing effects of temperature were carried over to the next growing season. CO2 enrichment also affected the maximum length of shoots, but the effect was negative. In addition, some response to CO2 in fertility was observed, but again the effect of temperature was more obvious. Exposure to CO2 enrichment seemed to have some positive effects on the belowground biomass of E. fiuviatile, although this response was not very clear. Thus, we speculate that in the future climate this species will grow faster and the littoral stands will produce more shoot biomass.
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