Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hartwig, U.A.
Right arrow Articles by Nösberger, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hartwig, U.A.
Right arrow Articles by Nösberger, J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Hartwig, U.A.
Right arrow Articles by Nösberger, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 53, No. 371, pp. 1207-1213, May 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

Original Papers

Arbuscular mycorrhiza infection enhances the growth response of Lolium perenne to elevated atmospheric pCO2

U.A. Hartwig 1, P. Wittmann, R. Braun, B. Hartwig-Räz, J. Jansa, A. Mozafar, A. Lüscher, A. Leuchtmann, E. Frossard and J. Nösberger

Institute of Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Elevated atmospheric pCO2 increases the C-availability for plants and thus leads to a comparable increase in plant biomass production and nutrient demand. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered to play an important role in the nutrient uptake of plants as well as to be a significant C-sink. Therefore, an increased colonization of plant roots by AMF is expected under elevated atmospheric pCO2. To test these hypotheses, Lolium perenne L. plants were grown from seeds in a growth chamber in pots containing a silica sand/soil mixture for 9 weeks with and without inoculation with Glomus intraradices (Schenck and Smith). The growth response of plants at two different levels of N fertilization (1.5 or 4.5 mM) combined with ambient (35 Pa) and elevated atmospheric pCO2 (60 Pa) was compared. The inoculation with G. intraradices, the elevated atmospheric pCO2 and the high N fertilization treatment all led to an increased plant biomass production of 16%, 20% and 49%, respectively. AMF colonization and high N fertilization increased the plant growth response to elevated atmospheric pCO2; the plant growth response to high N fertilization was also increased by AMF colonization. The root/shoot ratio was reduced by high N fertilization or elevated atmospheric pCO2, but was not affected by AMF colonization. The unchanged specific leaf area indicated that if AMF colonization represented an increased C-sink, this was fully covered by the plant. Elevated atmospheric pCO2 strongly increased AMF colonization (60%) while the high N fertilization had a slightly negative effect. AMF colonization neither improved the N nor P nutrition status, but led to an improved total P uptake. The results underline the importance of AMF for the response of grassland ecosystems to elevated atmospheric pCO2.

Key words: Elevated carbon dioxide, mycorrhiza, ryegrass.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.