Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy.
Glob Chang Biol. 2021 Nov;27(21):5629-5642. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15823. Epub 2021 Aug 16.
Net ecosystem CO exchange is the result of net carbon uptake by plant photosynthesis and carbon loss by soil and plant respiration. Temperature increases due to climate change can modify the equilibrium between these fluxes and trigger ecosystem-climate feedbacks that can accelerate climate warming. As these dynamics have not been well studied in dry shrublands, we subjected a Mediterranean shrubland to a 10-year night-time temperature manipulation experiment that analyzed ecosystem carbon fluxes associated with dominant shrub species, together with several plant parameters related to leaf photosynthesis, leaf morphology, and canopy structure. Under moderate night-time warming (+0.9°C minimum daily temperature, no significant reduction in soil moisture), Cistus monspeliensis formed shoots with more leaves that were relatively larger and denser canopies that supported higher plant-level photosynthesis rates. Given that ecosystem respiration was not affected, this change in canopy morphology led to a significant enhancement in net ecosystem exchange (+47% at midday). The observed changes in shoot and canopy morphology were attributed to the improved nutritional state of the warmed plants, primarily due to changes in nitrogen cycling and higher nitrogen resorption efficiency in senescent leaves. Our results show that modifications in plant morphology triggered by moderate warming affected ecosystem CO fluxes, providing the first evidence for enhanced daytime carbon uptake in a dry shrubland ecosystem under experimental warming.
净生态系统 CO 交换是植物光合作用净碳吸收和土壤及植物呼吸碳损失的结果。气候变化引起的温度升高可以改变这些通量之间的平衡,并引发生态系统-气候反馈,从而加速气候变暖。由于这些动态在干旱灌丛中研究不足,我们对一个地中海灌丛进行了为期 10 年的夜间温度处理实验,该实验分析了与主要灌木物种相关的生态系统碳通量,以及与叶片光合作用、叶片形态和冠层结构相关的几个植物参数。在适度的夜间变暖(最低日温升高 0.9°C,土壤水分没有显著减少)下,滨藜形成了具有更多相对较大和较密集冠层的枝条,从而支持更高的植物水平光合作用速率。由于生态系统呼吸没有受到影响,这种冠层形态的变化导致净生态系统交换显著增强(中午增加 47%)。观察到的枝条和冠层形态的变化归因于受暖植物营养状态的改善,主要是由于氮循环的变化和衰老叶片中更高的氮再吸收效率。我们的结果表明,适度变暖引发的植物形态变化影响了生态系统 CO 通量,为实验变暖下干旱灌丛生态系统白天碳吸收增强提供了第一个证据。