RUI: Fine root production and architecture in a loblolly pine forest exposed to FACE: interactive effects of atmospheric CO2-enrichment with soil N availability

摘要/ Abstract摘要：火炬松林细根生长与结构：大气二氧化碳富集与土壤氮有效性的交互效应。查尔斯顿学院的Seth Pritchard （PI）和Allan Strand (Co-PI)，对大气、森林树冠和土壤之间的碳循环进行表征的努力受到对树根寿命了解不足的阻碍。自1998年以来，在杜克大学森林中研究了大气二氧化碳浓度升高和施肥对火炬松最小根的影响。通过定期将微型摄像机插入永久安装在土壤中的透明管中，可以记录最小树根的寿命。利用连续的数字图像来测量不同大小的根的寿命，将与根结构分析和化学分析相结合，以更好地了解根生物学如何受到大气二氧化碳浓度升高的影响。燃烧化石燃料和砍伐森林所排放的二氧化碳正在大气中积累。在光合作用过程中，一些数量不详的额外二氧化碳将被植物从大气中清除，然后被植物转移到土壤中，其中一些可能会在土壤中存留几个世纪。了解二氧化碳的增加将如何影响最小和最短暂的根的寿命是特别重要的，因为这些根吸收了树木获得的大部分营养和水，当它们死亡时，它们将大量的碳转移到土壤中。为了预测土壤中碳储存的潜力，需要更好地了解根系生物学。

Project Abstract: RUI: Fine root production and architecture in a loblolly pine forest: interactive effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide-enrichment with soil nitrogen availability.Seth Pritchard (PI) and Allan Strand (Co-PI), College of CharlestonEfforts to characterize carbon cycling between the atmosphere, forest canopies, and the soil are hindered by a poor understanding of how long tree roots live. The influence of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and fertilization on the smallest roots of loblolly pine trees has been studied since 1998 in the Duke University Forest. The lifespans of the smallest tree roots are being documented by periodically inserting a miniature camera into clear tubes installed permanently in soil. Using sequential digital images to measure the lifespan of roots of different sizes will be combined with analysis of root architecture and chemical analysis to better understand how root biology will be affected by elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Carbon dioxide emitted from burning fossil fuels and deforestation is accumulating in the atmosphere. Some unknown quantity of this extra CO2 will be removed from the atmosphere by plants during photosynthesis and then moved by the plants into the soil where some of it may remain for centuries. Understanding how elevated CO2 will influence the lifespan of the smallest and most ephemeral roots is particularly important because these roots absorb most of the nutrients and water acquired by trees and when they die they transfer a large amount of carbon into the soil. A better understanding of root biology is needed to predict the potential for carbon storage in the soil.