Fire, hurricane and carbon dioxide: effects on net primary production of a subtropical woodland. Issue 3 (22nd July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hungate, Bruce A.; Day, Frank P.; Dijkstra, Paul; Duval, Benjamin D.; Hinkle, C. Ross; Langley, J. Adam; Megonigal, J. Patrick; Stiling, Peter; Johnson, Dale W.; Drake, Bert G.
• Is Part Of: New phytologist. Volume 200:Issue 3(2013)
• Page Start: 767
• Page End: 777
• Publication Date: 2013-07-22
• Subjects: Botany -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1111/nph.12409
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-646X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="nph12409-abs-0001"> <title>Summary</title> <p> <list id="nph12409-list-0001" list-type="bullet"> <list-item> <p>Disturbance affects most terrestrial ecosystems and has the potential to shape their responses to chronic environmental change.</p> </list-item> <list-item> <p>Scrub‐oak vegetation regenerating from fire disturbance in subtropical Florida was exposed to experimentally elevated carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) concentration (+350 μl l<sup>−1</sup>) using open‐top chambers for 11 yr, punctuated by hurricane disturbance in year 8. Here, we report the effects of elevated CO<sub>2</sub> on aboveground and belowground net primary productivity (NPP) and nitrogen (N) cycling during this experiment.</p> </list-item> <list-item> <p>The stimulation of NPP and N uptake by elevated CO<sub>2</sub> 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 CO<sub>2</sub>‐induced reduction in the N concentration of oak stems.</p> </list-item> <list-item> <p>These findings show that strong growth responses to elevated CO<sub>2</sub> can be transient, are consistent with a progressively limited response to elevated CO<sub>2</sub> interrupted by disturbance, and illustrate the importance of biogeochemical responses to extreme events in modulating ecosystem responses to global environmental change.</p> </list-item> </list> </p> </abstract>