Benjamin Laffitte, Barnabas C. Seyler, Pengbo Li, Zhengang Ha, Ya Tang
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引用次数: 2
Key message
Evidence for the CFE was mixed. New dendrochronological experimental designs are needed, especially in tropical and boreal biomes. A weakness of current methodologies could impede the ability to detect a CFE.
Abstract
The effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on plant growth and the carbon cycle have stimulated extensive research. Over the last three decades, CO2 enrichment experiments have tested the CO2 fertilization effect (CFE) hypothesis. Yet, CO2 enrichment studies have been criticized for having unrealistic designs. Multiple studies have sought to use tree-ring analyses to verify the CFE under more natural conditions. To assess the breadth of scholarship about CO2 fertilization on tree radial growth, this study conducted a tri-lingual (English, French, and Chinese) literature review. Finding no French, just one Chinese, and 73 English articles directly related to this topic, all 74 relevant tree-ring studies (1984–2020) were reviewed in-depth. We found an underrepresentation of studies from key regions important to the global carbon cycle, particularly tropical and boreal biomes. Evidence for the CFE was mixed: about 32.4% of dendrochronological studies found a CFE, another 23% found radial growth trends explained by both CO2 fertilization and other climatic variables, 5.4% attributed tree growth only to climate change, and 39.2% (primarily in tropical areas) did not find any evidence of a CFE. Synthesized results of global scholarship highlight the need for new dendrochronological experimental designs to exclude climatic and environmental variables and test whether CO2 fertilization occurs in tropical regions. Furthermore, weakness of current methodologies could lessen the ability to detect a CFE. More focused research is necessary from under-represented regions, and to test the effects of increasing anthropogenic activities (such as localized elevated CO2 emissions) on tree growth in nature settings.
期刊介绍：
Trees - Structure and Function publishes original articles on the physiology, biochemistry, functional anatomy, structure and ecology of trees and other woody plants. Also presented are articles concerned with pathology and technological problems, when they contribute to the basic understanding of structure and function of trees. In addition to original articles and short communications, the journal publishes reviews on selected topics concerning the structure and function of trees.
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