Rising CO2 levels and the fecundity of forest trees

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 292; no. 5514; pp. 95 - 98
• Main Authors: LADEAU, Shannon L, CLARK, James S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 06.04.2001
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Atmosphere; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon Dioxide - metabolism; Carbon Dioxide - pharmacology; Cycadopsida - growth & development; Cycadopsida - physiology; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on plants and fungi; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Greenhouse Effect; North Carolina; Photosynthesis; Probability; Reproduction; Seeds - metabolism; Species Specificity; Trees - growth & development; Trees - physiology; Forests; Resource allocation; Carbon dioxide; Pinus taeda; Biodiversity; Sexual reproduction; Medium enrichment; Sexual maturity; Softwood forest tree; Gymnospermae; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Plant reproductive apparatus; Climate modification
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1057547

We determined the reproductive response of 19-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) to 4 years of carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment (ambient concentration plus 200 microliters per liter) in an intact forest. After 3 years of CO2 fumigation, trees were twice as likely to be reproductively mature and produced three times as many cones and seeds as trees at ambient CO2 concentration. A disproportionate carbon allocation to reproduction under CO2 enrichment results in trees reaching maturity sooner and at a smaller size. This reproductive response to future increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration is expected to change loblolly dispersal and recruitment patterns.