Seventeen years of elevated CO2 exposure in a Chesapeake Bay Wetland:: sustained but contrasting responses of plant growth and CO2 uptake

Increased atmospheric CO2 concentration (Ca) produces a short-term stimulation of photosynthesis and plant growth across terrestrial ecosystems. However, the long-term response remains uncertain and is thought to depend on environmental constraints. In the longest experiment on natural ecosystem response to elevated Ca, we measured the shoot-density, biomass and net CO2 exchange (NEE) responses to elevated Ca from 1987 to 2003 in a Scirpus olneyi wetland sedge community of the Chesapeake Bay, MD, USA. Measurements were conducted in five replicated open-top chambers per CO2 treatment (ambient and elevated). In addition, unchambered control plots were monitored for shoot density. Responses of daytime NEE, Scirpus plant biomass and shoot density to elevated Ca were positive for any single year of the 17-year period of study. Daytime NEE stimulation by elevated Ca rapidly dropped from 80% at the onset of the experiment to a long-term stimulation average of about 35%. Shoot-density stimulation by elevated Ca increased linearly with duration of exposure (r(2)=0.89), exceeding 120% after 17 years. Although of lesser magnitude, the shoot biomass response to elevated Ca was similar to that of the shoot density. Daytime NEE response to elevated Ca was not explained by the duration of exposure, but negatively correlated with salinity of the marsh, indicating that this elevated-Ca response was decreased by water-related stress. By contrast, circumstantial evidence suggested that salinity stress increased the stimulation of shoot density by elevated Ca, which highlights the complexity of the interaction between water-related stresses and plant community responses to elevated Ca. Notwithstanding the effects of salinity stress, we believe that the most important finding of the present research is that a species response to elevated Ca can continually increase when this species is under stress and declining in its natural environment. This is particularly important because climate changes associated with elevated Ca are likely to increase environmental stresses on numerous species and modify their present distribution. Our results point to an increased resilience to change under elevated Ca when plants are exposed to adverse environmental conditions.