Photosynthetic response of loblolly pine and sweetgum seedling stands to elevated carbon dioxide, water stress, and nitrogen level

Abstract

Seedling stands of loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) and sweetgum (Liquidambarstyraciflua L.) were grown in monoculture or mixed stands for two growing cycles in controlled-environment chambers. Treatments consisted of ambient (408 ppm) and elevated (806 ppm) CO2, concentrations, water-stressed and well-watered conditions, and low (20 kg N/ha) and high (215 kg N/ha) nitrogen application rates. Photosynthesis rates were measured under ambient and elevated cuvette CO2 concentrations for both whole stands and individual seedlings from these stands. Significant interactions between CO2 and water suggested that elevated CO2 concentration compensated for low water availability in individually measured loblolly pine and in whole seedling stands regardless of stand type. Expressing photosynthesis on a soil area versus a leaf-mass basis influenced the photosynthetic rankings of the three stand types relative to one another. Net photosynthetic rates per unit leaf mass were 390 and 880% higher in individually measured seedlings than in whole monoculture stands for loblolly pine and sweetgum, respectively. Lower photosynthetic contributions from lower canopy leaves in whole seedling stands compared with the upper canopy leaves used in individual-seedling measurements were thought to be responsible for lower photosynthetic rates in seedling stands. These results suggest that photosynthetic response is influenced by canopy dynamics that are unaccounted for by individual-seedling measurements of photosynthesis. Differences in photosynthetic response between loblolly pine and sweetgum stands and individuals are thought to be largely due to species-specific differences in canopy light extinction characteristics.