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Disturbance affects most terrestrial ecosystems and has the potential to shape their responses to chronic environmental change., Scrub-oak vegetation regenerating from fire disturbance in subtropical Florida was exposed to experimentally elevated carbon dioxide ( CO2) concentration (+350 μl l−1) using open-top chambers for 11 yr, punctuated by hurricane disturbance in year 8. Here, we report the effects of elevated CO2 on aboveground and belowground net primary productivity ( NPP) and nitrogen ( N) cycling during this experiment., The stimulation of NPP and N uptake by elevated CO2 peaked within 2 yr after disturbance by fire and hurricane, when soil nutrient availability was high. The stimulation subsequently declined and disappeared, coincident with low soil nutrient availability and with a CO2-induced reduction in the N concentration of oak stems., These findings show that strong growth responses to elevated CO2 can be transient, are consistent with a progressively limited response to elevated CO2 interrupted by disturbance, and illustrate the importance of biogeochemical responses to extreme events in modulating ecosystem responses to global environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty surrounds belowground plant responses to rising atmospheric CO2 because roots are difficult to measure, requiring frequent monitoring as a result of fine root dynamics and long-term monitoring as a result of sensitivity to resource availability., We report belowground plant responses of a scrub-oak ecosystem in Florida exposed to 11 yr of elevated atmospheric CO2 using open-top chambers. We measured fine root production, turnover and biomass using minirhizotrons, coarse root biomass using ground-penetrating radar and total root biomass using soil cores., Total root biomass was greater in elevated than in ambient plots, and the absolute difference was larger than the difference aboveground. Fine root biomass fluctuated by more than a factor of two, with no unidirectional temporal trend, whereas leaf biomass accumulated monotonically. Strong increases in fine root biomass with elevated CO2 occurred after fire and hurricane disturbance. Leaf biomass also exhibited stronger responses following hurricanes., Responses after fire and hurricanes suggest that disturbance promotes the growth responses of plants to elevated CO2. Increased resource availability associated with disturbance (nutrients, water, space) may facilitate greater responses of roots to elevated CO2. The disappearance of responses in fine roots suggests limits on the capacity of root systems to respond to CO2 enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of elevated CO2 on plant growth and insect herbivory have been frequently investigated over the past 20 years. Most studies have shown an increase in plant growth, a decrease in plant nitrogen concentration, an increase in plant secondary metabolites and a decrease in herbivory. However, such studies have generally overlooked the fact that increases in plant production could cause increases of herbivores per unit area of habitat. Our study investigated leaf production, herbivory levels and herbivore abundance per unit area of leaf litter in a scrub-oak system at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, under conditions of ambient and elevated CO2, over an 11-year period, from 1996 to 2007. In every year, herbivory, that is leafminer and leaftier abundance per 200 leaves, was lower under elevated CO2 than ambient CO2 for each of three species of oaks, Quercus myrtifolia, Quercus chapmanii and Quercus geminata. However, leaf litter production per 0.1143 m2 was greater under elevated CO2 than ambient CO2 for Q. myrtifolia and Q. chapmanii, and this difference increased over the 11 years of the study. Leaf production of Q. geminata under elevated CO2 did not increase. Leafminer densities per 0.1143 m2 of litterfall for Q. myrtifolia and Q. chapmanii were initially lower under elevated CO2. However, shortly after canopy closure in 2001, leafminer densities per 0.1143 m2 of litter fall became higher under elevated CO2 and remained higher for the remainder of the experiment. Leaftier densities per 0.1143 m2 were also higher under elevated CO2 for Q. myrtifolia and Q. chapmanii over the last 6 years of the experiment. There were no differences in leafminer or leaftier densities per 0.1143 m2 of litter for Q. geminata. These results show three phenomena. First, they show that elevated CO2 decreases herbivory on all oak species in the Florida scrub-oak system. Second, despite lower numbers of herbivores per 200 leaves in elevated CO2, increased leaf production resulted in higher herbivore densities per unit area of leaf litter for two oak species. Third, they corroborate other studies which suggest that the effects of elevated CO2 on herbivores are species specific, meaning they depend on the particular plant species involved. Two oak species showed increases in leaf production and herbivore densities per 0.1143 m2 in elevated CO2 over time while another oak species did not. Our results point to a future world of elevated CO2 where, despite lower plant herbivory, some insect herbivores may become more common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) often stimulates the growth of fine roots, yet there are few reports of responses of intact root systems to long-term CO2 exposure. We investigated the effects of elevated CO2 on fine root growth using open top chambers in a scrub oak ecosystem at Kennedy Space Center, Florida for more than 7 years. CO2 enrichment began immediately after a controlled burn, which simulated the natural disturbance that occurs in this system every 10–15 years. We hypothesized that (1) root abundance would increase in both treatments as the system recovered from fire; (2) elevated CO2 would stimulate root growth; and (3) elevated CO2 would alter root distribution. Minirhizotron tubes were used to measure fine root length density (mm cm−2) every three months. During the first 2 years after fire recovery, fine root abundance increased in all treatments and elevated CO2 significantly enhanced root abundance, causing a maximum stimulation of 181% after 20 months. The CO2 stimulation was initially more pronounced in the top 10 cm and 38–49 cm below the soil surface. However, these responses completely disappeared during the third year of experimental treatment: elevated CO2 had no effect on root abundance or on the depth distribution of fine roots during years 3–7. The results suggest that, within a few years following fire, fine roots in this scrub oak ecosystem reach closure, defined here as a dynamic equilibrium between production and mortality. These results further suggest that elevated CO2 hastens root closure but does not affect maximum root abundance. Limitation of fine root growth by belowground resources – particularly nutrients in this nutrient-poor soil – may explain the transient response to elevated CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 ) are likely to affect the trophic relationships that exist between plants, their herbivores and the herbivores' natural enemies. This study takes advantage of an open-top CO2 fertilization experiment in a Florida scrub oak community at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, consisting of eight chambers supplied with ambient CO2 (360 ppm) and eight chambers supplied with elevated CO2 (710 ppm). We examined the effects of elevated CO2 on herbivore densities and levels of leaf consumption, rates of herbivore attack by natural enemies and effects on leaf abscission. Cumulative levels of herbivores and herbivore damage were significantly lower in elevated CO2 than in ambient CO2 . This may be because leaf nitrogen levels are lower in elevated CO2 . More herbivores die of host plant-induced death in elevated CO2 than in ambient CO2 . Attack rates of herbivores by parasitoids are also higher in elevated CO2 , possibly because herbivores need to feed for a longer time in order to accrue sufficient nitrogen (N), thus exposing themselves longer to natural enemies. Insect herbivores cause an increase in abscission rates of leaves throughout the year. Because of the lower insect density in elevated CO2 , we thought, abscission rates would be lower in these chambers. However, abscission rates were significantly higher in elevated CO2 . Thus, the direct effects of elevated CO2 on abscission are greater than the indirect effects on abscission mediated via lower insect densities. A consequence of increased leaf abscission in elevated CO2 is that nutrient deposition rates to the soil surface are accelerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty surrounds belowground plant responses to rising atmospheric CO₂ because roots are difficult to measure, requiring frequent monitoring as a result of fine root dynamics and long-term monitoring as a result of sensitivity to resource availability. We report belowground plant responses of a scrub-oak ecosystem in Florida exposed to 11 yr of elevated atmospheric CO₂ using open-top chambers. We measured fine root production, turnover and biomass using minirhizotrons, coarse root biomass using ground-penetrating radar and total root biomass using soil cores. Total root biomass was greater in elevated than in ambient plots, and the absolute difference was larger than the difference aboveground. Fine root biomass fluctuated by more than a factor of two, with no unidirectional temporal trend, whereas leaf biomass accumulated monotonically. Strong increases in fine root biomass with elevated CO₂ occurred after fire and hurricane disturbance. Leaf biomass also exhibited stronger responses following hurricanes. Responses after fire and hurricanes suggest that disturbance promotes the growth responses of plants to elevated CO₂. Increased resource availability associated with disturbance (nutrients, water, space) may facilitate greater responses of roots to elevated CO₂. The disappearance of responses in fine roots suggests limits on the capacity of root systems to respond to CO₂ enrichment., (© 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.)