Characterizing the drivers of seedling leaf gas exchange responses to warming and altered precipitation: indirect and direct effects

Climate change is expected to bring warmer temperatures and more variable precipitation patterns worldwide, patterns that will depend on the ability of the world's flora to take up carbon under these new conditions. We subjected deciduous tree seedlings growing in an old-field ecosystem in Massachusetts, USA to warming and altered precipitation. We found that leaf carbon uptake was greatest under the coolest, wettest conditions, an effect driven by increased soil water availability in these plots. Our findings suggest that warming may reduce leaf carbon uptake by decreasing soil moisture, an effect that will be exacerbated during drought periods.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  AoB Plants

• Publication date

  2016-10-26

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1093/aobpla/plw066PMID 27658816PMCID 5091920
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• Deciduous tree seedlings in an old-field ecosystem were exposed to warming and altered precipitation treatments to test gas-exchange responses.

  Confidence 0.88

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• Warming may reduce leaf carbon uptake by lowering soil moisture, and that reduction is expected to be stronger during drought periods.

  Confidence 0.95

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• Leaf carbon uptake was highest under the coolest, wettest conditions, and that pattern was driven by greater soil water availability in those plots.

  Confidence 0.97

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review

• altered precipitation

  treatments

  An experimental manipulation of water input to the plots to change rainfall conditions.

  Aliases: precipitation manipulation, water input treatment

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• deciduous tree seedlings

  organisms

  Young trees of deciduous species used as the experimental plants in the field manipulation.

  Aliases: seedlings

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• drought periods

  conditions

  Intervals of low precipitation or dry conditions within the field setting.

  Aliases: drought, dry periods

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• leaf carbon uptake

  processes

  The leaf-level carbon exchange trait measured as an indicator of photosynthetic carbon gain.

  Aliases: carbon uptake, leaf gas exchange

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• old-field ecosystem

  ecosystems

  The formerly cultivated field habitat in Massachusetts where the seedling experiment was conducted.

  Aliases: old field

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• soil moisture

  factors

  The water content of the soil that can influence plant gas exchange under the treatments.

  Aliases: soil water content

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• soil water availability

  factors

  The amount of water available in the soil for plant uptake in the experimental plots.

  Aliases: soil water, available soil water

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• warming

  treatments

  An experimental temperature treatment that increased growing conditions relative to ambient plots.

  Aliases: temperature increase

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review

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