Seasonal changes in the response of winter wheat to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration grown in Open-Top Chambers and field tracking enclosures

Winter wheat was grown at ambient and elevated (ambient plus 350 mu L L-1) CO2 concentrations in open top chambers and in field-tracking sun-lit climatized enclosures (elevated is 718 mu L L-1). There was no significant effect of CO2 concentration on sheath, leaf and root biomass and leaf area in the early spring (January to April). 24-h canopy CO2 exchange rate (CCER) was not significantly affected either. However, elevated CO2 concentration increased CCER at midday, decreased evapotranspiration rate and increased instantaneous water-use-efficiency during early spring. Leaf, sheath and root nitrogen concentration per unit dry weight decreased and nonstructural carbohydrate concentration increased under elevated CO2, and N-uptake per unit ground area decreased significantly (-22%) towards the end of this period. These results contrast with results from the final harvest, when grain yield and biomass were increased by 19% under elevated CO2. N concentration per dry weight was reduced by 5%, but N-uptake per unit ground area was significantly higher (+11%) for the elevated CO2 treatment. 24-h and midday-CCER increased significantly more in late spring (period of 21 April to 30 May) (respectively by + 40% and 53%) than in the early spring (respectively 5% and 19%) in response to elevated CO2. Midday evapotranspiration rate was reduced less by elevated CO2 in the late spring (-13%) than in early spring (-21%). The CO2 response of midday and 24-h CCER decreased again (+ 27% and + 23% resp.) towards the end of the growing season. We conclude that the low response to CO2 concentration during the early spring was associated with a growth-restriction, caused by low temperature and irradiance levels. The reduction of nitrogen concentration, the increase of nonstructural carbohydrate, and the lower evapotranspiration indicated that CO2 did have an effect towards the end of early spring; but not on biomass accumulation. Regression analysis showed that both irradiance and temperature affected the response to CO2.