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Investigations were carried out during 2014 and 2015 to study the effect of elevated CO2 and temperature on growth and yield contributing parameters of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) under open top chamber (OTC) at research farm of Department of Environmental Science, Dr Y.S. Parmar UHF, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh with four treatments [T1(eCO2): OTC with elevated CO2 550±10 ppm; T2(eT & eCO2): elevated temperature by 1°C and elevated CO2 550±10 ppm; T3(aT & aCO2): ambient temperature and CO2 and T4: natural condition] and each treatment had two varieties (California Wonder and Solan Bharpur) of bell pepper which were replicated thrice. Results revealed that bell pepper recorded maximum plant height, leaf area, yield attributes under eCO2 which were significantly higher than all other treatments. However, the harvest duration and days to first harvest was lowest under eCO2. Higher fruit size as well as fruit weight was recorded with eCO2 followed by eT and eCO2, aT and aCO2 and open natural condition. But maximum number of fruits and highest fruit yield was obtained with natural condition which was significantly superior over eCO2 as well as over eT and eCO2 because increase in temperature negated fruit set due to less pollen viability under eCO2 and eT & eCO2 as compared to open. In open natural conditions due to higher pollen viability and more fruit setting as compared to higher CO2 and temperature conditions, it resulted more yield. Solan Bharpur recorded higher total fruit yield (800.2 g plant-1) than California Wonder (399.1 g plant-1). Elevated CO2 has positive effect on plant growth and yield attributes in both cultivars of bell pepper. However, under interactive effect of elevated CO2 and elevated temperature, rising temperature negated the positive effects of elevated CO2 on crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microbial diversity is huge and a few grams of soil contain more bacterial taxa than there are bird species on Earth. This high diversity often makes predicting the responses of soil bacteria to environmental change intractable and restricts our capacity to predict the responses of soil functions to global change. Here, using a long-term field experiment in a California grassland, we studied the main and interactive effects of three global change factors (increased atmospheric CO2 concentration, precipitation and nitrogen addition, and all their factorial combinations, based on global change scenarios for central California) on the potential activity, abundance and dominant taxa of soil nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Using a trait-based model, we then tested whether categorizing NOB into a few functional groups unified by physiological traits enables understanding and predicting how soil NOB respond to global environmental change. Contrasted responses to global change treatments were observed between three main NOB functional types. In particular, putatively mixotrophic Nitrobacter, rare under most treatments, became dominant under the 'High CO2CNitrogenCPrecipitation' treatment. The mechanistic trait-based model, which simulated ecological niches of NOB types consistent with previous ecophysiological reports, helped predicting the observed effects of global change on NOB and elucidating the underlying biotic and abiotic controls. Our results are a starting point for representing the overwhelming diversity of soil bacteria by a few functional types that can be incorporated into models of terrestrial ecosystems and biogeochemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

* Premise of the study: Climate-induced forest retreat has profound ecological and biogeochemical impacts, but the physiological mechanisms underlying past tree mortality are poorly understood, limiting prediction of vegetation shifts with climate variation. Climate, drought, fire, and grazing represent agents of tree mortality during the late Cenozoic, but the interaction between drought and declining atmospheric carbon dioxide ([CO2]a) from high to near-starvation levels ~34 million years (Ma) ago has been overlooked. Here, this interaction frames our investigation of sapling mortality through the interdependence of hydraulic function, carbon limitation, and defense metabolism. * Methods: We recreated a changing Cenozoic [CO2]a regime by growing Sequoia sempervirens trees within climate-controlled growth chambers at 1500, 500, or 200 ppm [CO2]a, capturing the decline toward minimum concentrations from 34 Ma. After 7 months, we imposed drought conditions and measured key physiological components linking carbon utilization, hydraulics, and defense metabolism as hypothesized interdependent mechanisms of tree mortality. * Key results: Catastrophic failure of hydraulic conductivity, carbohydrate starvation, and tree death occurred at 200 ppm, but not 500 or 1500 ppm [CO2]a. Furthermore, declining [CO2]a reduced investment in carbon-rich foliar defense compounds that would diminish resistance to biotic attack, likely exacerbating mortality. * Conclusions: Low-[CO2]a-driven tree mortality under drought is consistent with Pleistocene pollen records charting repeated Californian Sequoia forest contraction during glacial periods (180-200 ppm [CO2]a) and may even have contributed to forest retreat as grasslands expanded on multiple continents under low [CO2]a over the past 10 Ma. In this way, geologic intervals of low [CO2]a coupled with drought could impose a demographic bottleneck in tree recruitment, driving vegetation shifts through forest mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used microbial lipid analysis to analyze microbial biomass and community structure during 6 years of experimental treatment at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment ( JRGCE), a long-term multi-factor global change experiment in a California annual grassland. The microbial community fingerprint and specific biomarkers varied substantially from year to year, in both control and experimental treatment plots. Possible drivers of the variability included plant growth, soil moisture, and ambient temperature. Surprisingly, background variation in the microbial community was of a larger magnitude than even very significant treatment effects, and this variation appeared to constrain responses to treatment. Microbial communities were mostly not responsive or not consistently responsive to the experimental treatments. Both arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biomarker abundance (16 : 1 ω5c) and the fungal to bacterial ratio were lower under nitrogen addition in most years. Bacterial lipid biomarker abundances (15 : 0 iso and 16 : 1 ω7c) were higher under nitrogen addition in 2002, the year of largest microbial biomass, suggesting that bacteria could respond more to nitrogen addition in years of better growth conditions. Nitrogen addition and warming led to an interactive effect on the Gram-positive bacterial biomarker and the fungal to bacterial ratio. These patterns indicate that in California grassland ecosystems, microbial communities may not respond substantially to future changes in climate and that nitrogen deposition may be a determinant of the soil response to global change. Further, year-to-year variation in microbial growth or community composition may be important determinants of ecosystem response to global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in plant inputs under changing atmospheric CO2 can be expected to alter the size and/or functional characteristics of soil microbial communities which can determine whether soils are a C sink or source. Stable isotope probing was used to trace autotrophically fixed 13C into phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers in Mojave Desert soils planted with the desert shrub, Larrea tridentata. Seedlings were pulse-labeled with 13CO2 under ambient and elevated CO2 in controlled environmental growth chambers. The label was chased into the soil by extracting soil PLFAs after labeling at Days 0, 2, 10, 24, and 49. Eighteen of 29 PLFAs identified showed 13C enrichment relative to nonlabeled control soils. Patterns of PLFA enrichment varied temporally and were similar for various PLFAs found within a microbial functional group. Enrichment of PLFA 13C generally occurred within the first 2 days in general and fungal biomarkers, followed by increasingly greater enrichment in bacterial biomarkers as the study progressed (Gram-negative, Gram-positive, actinobacteria). While treatment CO2 level did not affect total PLFA-C concentrations, microbial functional group abundances and distribution responded to treatment CO2 level and these shifts persisted throughout the study. Specifically, ratios of bacterial-to-total PLFA-C decreased and fungal-to-bacterial PLFA-C increased under elevated CO2 compared with ambient conditions. Differences in the timing of 13C incorporation into lipid biomarkers coupled with changes in microbial functional groups indicate that microbial community characteristics in Mojave Desert soils have shifted in response to long-term exposure to increased atmospheric CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in plant inputs under changing atmospheric CO2 can be expected to alter the size and/or functional characteristics of soil microbial communities which can determine whether soils are a C sink or source. Stable isotope probing was used to trace autotrophically fixed 13C into phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers in Mojave Desert soils planted with the desert shrub, Larrea tridentata. Seedlings were pulse-labeled with 13CO2 under ambient and elevated CO2 in controlled environmental growth chambers. The label was chased into the soil by extracting soil PLFAs after labeling at Days 0, 2, 10, 24, and 49. Eighteen of 29 PLFAs identified showed 13C enrichment relative to nonlabeled control soils. Patterns of PLFA enrichment varied temporally and were similar for various PLFAs found within a microbial functional group. Enrichment of PLFA 13C generally occurred within the first 2 days in general and fungal biomarkers, followed by increasingly greater enrichment in bacterial biomarkers as the study progressed (Gram-negative, Gram-positive, actinobacteria). While treatment CO2 level did not affect total PLFA-C concentrations, microbial functional group abundances and distribution responded to treatment CO2 level and these shifts persisted throughout the study. Specifically, ratios of bacterial-to-total PLFA-C decreased and fungal-to-bacterial PLFA-C increased under elevated CO2 compared with ambient conditions. Differences in the timing of 13C incorporation into lipid biomarkers coupled with changes in microbial functional groups indicate that microbial community characteristics in Mojave Desert soils have shifted in response to long-term exposure to increased atmospheric CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of a session on meta-analysis held at the Ecological Society of America 92nd Annual Meeting in San Jose, California, in August 2007. Researchers discussed the use of meta-analysis in the field ecology during the session. They presented some techniques for ecological meta-analysis that have been borrowed from other disciplines.

Accelerating invasion of grasslands by woody species is a widespread global phenomenon. The native shrub Baccharis pilularis has recently increased in abundance in some California grasslands, with large local community and ecosystem effects. I investigated potential contributions of (1) future global climate and atmospheric changes and (2) variation in moisture and nutrient availability to increased Baccharis germination and early establishment rates. I examined responses of Baccharis seeds and seedlings to simulated warming (+ 1−2 °C) and elevated CO2 (+ 300 ppm) in a 2-year field experiment. Warming and CO2 treatments were applied at ambient and increased water and nitrogen levels chosen to simulate future increases in precipitation (+ 50%) and N deposition (+ 7 gN m−2 y−1). Elevated CO2 and water addition each increased or accelerated germination. Herbivory strongly reduced seedling populations during the winter wet season; drought further reduced seedling survival in the spring. Overall Baccharis survivorship was extremely low (<0.1%) across all treatments, complicating the interpretation of global change effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture profiles can affect species composition and ecosystem processes, but the effects of increased concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide ([CO2]) on the vertical distribution of plant water uptake have not been studied. Because plant species composition affects soil moisture profiles, and is likely to shift under elevated [CO2], it is also important to test whether the indirect effects of [CO2] on soil water content may depend on species composition. We examined the effects of elevated [CO2] and species composition on soil moisture profiles in an annual grassland of California. We grew monocultures and a mixture of Avena barbata and Hemizonia congesta– the dominant species of two phenological groups – in microcosms exposed to ambient (∼370 μmol mol−1) and elevated (∼700 μmol mol−1) [CO2]. Both species increased intrinsic and yield-based water use efficiency under elevated [CO2], but soil moisture increased only in communities with A. barbata, the dominant early-season annual grass. In A. barbata monocultures, the [CO2] treatment did not affect the depth distribution of soil water loss. In contrast to communities with A. barbata, monocultures of H. congesta, a late-season annual forb, did not conserve water under elevated [CO2], reflecting the increased growth of these plants. In late spring, elevated [CO2] also increased the efficiency of deep roots in H. congesta monocultures. Under ambient [CO2], roots below 60 cm accounted for 22% of total root biomass and were associated with 9% of total water loss, whereas in elevated [CO2], 16% of total belowground biomass was associated with 34% of total water loss. Both soil moisture and isotope data showed that H. congesta monocultures grown under elevated [CO2] began extracting water from deep soils 2 weeks earlier than plants in ambient [CO2]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arid ecosystems, which occupy about 35% of the Earth's terrestrial surface area, are believed to be among the most responsive to elevated [CO2]. Net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) was measured in the eighth year of CO2 enrichment at the Nevada Desert Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) Facility between the months of December 2003–December 2004. On most dates mean daily NEE (24 h) (μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) of ecosystems exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 were similar to those maintained at current ambient CO2 levels. However, on sampling dates following rains, mean daily NEEs of ecosystems exposed to elevated [CO2] averaged 23 to 56% lower than mean daily NEEs of ecosystems maintained at ambient [CO2]. Mean daily NEE varied seasonally across both CO2 treatments, increasing from about 0.1 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 in December to a maximum of 0.5–0.6 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 in early spring. Maximum NEE in ecosystems exposed to elevated CO2 occurred 1 month earlier than it did in ecosystems exposed to ambient CO2, with declines in both treatments to lowest seasonal levels by early October (0.09±0.03 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), but then increasing to near peak levels in late October (0.36±0.08 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), November (0.28±0.03 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), and December (0.54±0.06 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1). Seasonal patterns of mean daily NEE primarily resulted from larger seasonal fluctuations in rates of daytime net ecosystem CO2 uptake which were closely tied to plant community phenology and precipitation. Photosynthesis in the autotrophic crust community (lichens, mosses, and free-living cyanobacteria) following rains were probably responsible for the high NEEs observed in January, February, and late October 2004 when vascular plant photosynthesis was low. Both CO2 treatments were net CO2 sinks in 2004, but exposure to elevated CO2 reduced CO2 sink strength by 30% (positive net ecosystem productivity=127±17 g C m−2 yr−1 ambient CO2 and 90±11 g C m−2 yr−1 elevated CO2, P=0.011). This level of net C uptake rivals or exceeds levels observed in some forested and grassland ecosystems. Thus, the decrease in C sequestration seen in our study under elevated CO2– along with the extensive coverage of arid and semi-arid ecosystems globally– points to a significant drop in global C sequestration potential in the next several decades because of responses of heretofore overlooked dryland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arid ecosystems, which occupy about 35% of the Earth's terrestrial surface area, are believed to be among the most responsive to elevated [CO2]. Net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) was measured in the eighth year of CO2 enrichment at the Nevada Desert Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) Facility between the months of December 2003–December 2004. On most dates mean daily NEE (24 h) (μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) of ecosystems exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 were similar to those maintained at current ambient CO2 levels. However, on sampling dates following rains, mean daily NEEs of ecosystems exposed to elevated [CO2] averaged 23 to 56% lower than mean daily NEEs of ecosystems maintained at ambient [CO2]. Mean daily NEE varied seasonally across both CO2 treatments, increasing from about 0.1 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 in December to a maximum of 0.5–0.6 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 in early spring. Maximum NEE in ecosystems exposed to elevated CO2 occurred 1 month earlier than it did in ecosystems exposed to ambient CO2, with declines in both treatments to lowest seasonal levels by early October (0.09±0.03 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), but then increasing to near peak levels in late October (0.36±0.08 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), November (0.28±0.03 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), and December (0.54±0.06 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1). Seasonal patterns of mean daily NEE primarily resulted from larger seasonal fluctuations in rates of daytime net ecosystem CO2 uptake which were closely tied to plant community phenology and precipitation. Photosynthesis in the autotrophic crust community (lichens, mosses, and free-living cyanobacteria) following rains were probably responsible for the high NEEs observed in January, February, and late October 2004 when vascular plant photosynthesis was low. Both CO2 treatments were net CO2 sinks in 2004, but exposure to elevated CO2 reduced CO2 sink strength by 30% (positive net ecosystem productivity=127±17 g C m−2 yr−1 ambient CO2 and 90±11 g C m−2 yr−1 elevated CO2, P=0.011). This level of net C uptake rivals or exceeds levels observed in some forested and grassland ecosystems. Thus, the decrease in C sequestration seen in our study under elevated CO2– along with the extensive coverage of arid and semi-arid ecosystems globally– points to a significant drop in global C sequestration potential in the next several decades because of responses of heretofore overlooked dryland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated CO2 may improve the productivity of cool-season active (‘drought-deciduous’) shrubs in the deserts of southwestern North America by reducing early-season phenological constraints imposed by low leaf area when photosynthetic capacity is high and later-season physiological limitations from declining photosynthesis and midday water potentials. Altered productivity under elevated CO2 would depend on the specific responses of short-shoots that only provide early-season leaf area display, and long-shoots which determine annual growth increment in these plants. We measured plant water relations, photosynthetic gas exchange, and growth in short- and long-shoots of the drought-deciduous shrub, Lycium andersonii, under Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) in the field in an intact Mojave Desert ecosystem. We were specifically interested in the differential effects CO2 enrichment would have on short-shoots and actively growing long-shoots during canopy development. Net photosynthesis (Anet) was similar in elevated compared with ambient CO2, but stomatal conductance (gs) was reduced by 27% in both shoot types. L. andersonii growing in elevated CO2 had larger leaves on short-shoots, and more leaves per shoot length on long-shoots. Enhanced leaf growth did not counter lower gs, and midday plant water potential was similar between treatments. In both short- and long-shoots, down-regulation of light-saturated photosynthetic electron transport rate (Jmax) occurred under elevated CO2. However, the balance between rubisco efficiency (estimated by the maximum carboxylation rate of rubisco, Vcmax), and electron transport capacity (Vcmax/Jmax) remained constant in short-shoots, but increased in elevated CO2 grown long-shoots. Apparent quantum requirement was similar, while light-saturated photosynthetic rates (Amax) decreased by approximately 30% under elevated CO2 in both shoot-types. These results suggest that elevated CO2 lowered investment to photosynthetic electron transport capacity and whole-plant water use, even when leaf growth was stimulated. Such canopy dynamics are likely to enhance the ability of this drought-deciduous species to better cope with the highly variable inter- and intra-annual climate regimes characteristic of North American deserts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Annual and short-lived perennial plant performance during wet years is important for long-term persistence in the Mojave Desert. Additionally, the effects of elevated CO2 on desert plants may be relatively greater during years of high resource availability compared to dry years. Therefore, during an El Niño year at the Nevada Desert FACE Facility (a whole-ecosystem CO2 manipulation), we characterized photosynthetic investment (by assimilation rate-internal CO2 concentration relationships) and evaluated the seasonal pattern of net photosynthesis (Anet) and stomatal conductance (gs) for an invasive annual grass, Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens and a native herbaceous perennial, Eriogonum inflatum. Prior to and following flowering, Bromus showed consistent increases in both the maximum rate of carboxylation by Rubisco (VCmax) and the light-saturated rate of electron flow (Jmax) at elevated CO2. This resulted in greater Anet at elevated CO2 throughout most of the life cycle and a decrease in the seasonal decline of maximum midday Anet upon flowering as compared to ambient CO2. Eriogonum showed significant photosynthetic down-regulation to elevated CO2 late in the season, but the overall pattern of maximum midday Anet was not altered with respect to phenology. For Eriogonum, this resulted in similar levels of Anet on a leaf area basis as the season progressed between CO2 treatments, but greater photosynthetic activity over a typical diurnal period. While gs did not consistently vary with CO2 in Bromus, it did decrease in Eriogonum at elevated CO2 throughout much of the season. Since the biomass of both plants increased significantly at elevated CO2, these patterns of gas exchange highlight the differential mechanisms for increased plant growth. The species-specific interaction between CO2 and phenology in different growth forms suggests that important plant strategies may be altered by elevated CO2 in natural settings. These results indicate the importance of evaluating the effects of elevated CO2 at all life cycle stages to better understand the effects of elevated CO2 on whole-plant performance in natural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]