Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding... more Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding of the relationship of carbon gain and loss to temperature. In a field study on Heard Island, we investigated the responses of photosynthesis and respiration of the sub-Antarctic megaherb Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. to temperature. This was done by instantaneously manipulating leaf temperature in a gas exchange cuvette on plants adapted to natural temperature variation along an altitudinal gradient. There was little altitudinal variation in the temperature response of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was much less responsive to temperature than electron transport, suggesting that Rubisco activity was generally the rate-limiting process. The temperature response of leaf respiration rates was greater in cold-grown (high altitude) plants compared with warm-grown (low altitude) plants. This thermal acclimation would enable plants to maintain a positive carbon budget over a greater temperature range.
Communications in Soil Science Plant Analysis, Nov 11, 2008
... Perennial Ryegrass1 Marcus Schortemeyer,a Hana Šantrůčková,b and Michael J. Sadowskyc ... Soi... more ... Perennial Ryegrass1 Marcus Schortemeyer,a Hana Šantrůčková,b and Michael J. Sadowskyc ... Soil suspensions (2.5 mL) were analyzed immediately for fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolytic activity according to the method of Schnuerer and Rosswall (1982). ...
Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding... more Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding of the relationship of carbon gain and loss to temperature. In a field study on Heard Island, we investigated the responses of photosynthesis and respiration of the sub-Antarctic megaherb Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. to temperature. This was done by instantaneously manipulating leaf temperature in a gas exchange cuvette on plants adapted to natural temperature variation along an altitudinal gradient. There was little altitudinal variation in the temperature response of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was much less responsive to temperature than electron transport, suggesting that Rubisco activity was generally the rate-limiting process. The temperature response of leaf respiration rates was greater in cold-grown (high altitude) plants compared with warm-grown (low altitude) plants. This thermal acclimation would enable plants to maintain a positive carbon budget over a greater temperat...
The growth reduction of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during and after waterlogging stress depends... more The growth reduction of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during and after waterlogging stress depends on the depth of water from the soil surface. In a pot experiment with 3-week-old plants, soil was waterlogged for 14 d at the surface, or at 100 or 200 mm below the surface, and pots were then drained to assess recovery. A fully drained treatment kept at field capacity served as control. During waterlogging, the relative growth rate of roots decreased more than that of shoots (by 6–27% for shoots, by 15–74% for roots), and plant growth was reduced proportionally as the water level was increased. Light-saturated net photosynthesis was reduced by 70–80% for the two most severe waterlogging treatments, but was little affected for plants in soil waterlogged at 200 mm below the surface. The number of adventitious roots formed per stem in plants grown in waterlogged soil increased up to 1.5 times, but the number of tillers per plant was reduced by 24–62%. The adventitious roots only penetrated 85–116 mm below the water level in all waterlogging treatments. Adventitious root porosity was enhanced up to 10-fold for plants grown in waterlogged soil, depending on water level and position along the roots. Porosity also increased in basal zones of roots above the water level when the younger tissues had penetrated the waterlogged zone. Fourteen days after draining the pots, growth rates of plants where the soil had been waterlogged at 200 mm below the surface had recovered, while those of plants in the more severely waterlogged treatments had only partially recovered. These findings show that the depth of waterlogging has a large impact on the response of wheat both during and after a waterlogging event so that assessment of recovery is essential in evaluating waterlogging tolerance in crops.
Increases in the global atmospheric concentration of CO2 will not only directly affect the growth... more Increases in the global atmospheric concentration of CO2 will not only directly affect the growth of plants, but might also alter the living conditions for soil biota. This could lead to shifts in the size and composition of the soil microbial communities. In this study we investigated the response of heterotrophic bacteria, NH4+-oxidising bacteria, and Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii populations
In this study we assessed the impact of elevated CO2 with unlimited water and complete nutrient o... more In this study we assessed the impact of elevated CO2 with unlimited water and complete nutrient on the growth and nitrogen economy of ten woody Acacia species that differ in relative growth rate (RGR). Specifically, we asked whether fast- and slow-growing species systematically differ in their response to elevated CO2. Four slow-growing species from semi-arid environments (Acacia aneura, A. colei, A. coriacea and A. tetragonophylla) and six fast-growing species from mesic environments (Acacia dealbata, A. implexa, A. mearnsii, A. melanoxylon, A. irrorata and A. saligna) were grown in glasshouses with either ambient (˜350 ppm) or elevated (˜700 ppm) atmospheric CO2. All species reached greater final plant mass with the exception of A. aneura, and RGR, averaged across all species, increased by 10% over a 12-week period when plants were exposed to elevated CO2. The stimulation of RGR was evident throughout the 12-week growth period. Elevated CO2 resulted in less foliage area per unit foliage dry mass, which was mainly the result of an increase in foliage thickness with a smaller contribution from greater dry matter content per unit fresh mass. The net assimilation rate (NAR, increase in plant mass per unit foliage area and time) of the plants grown at elevated CO2 was higher in all species (on average 30% higher than plants in ambient CO2) and was responsible for the increase in RGR. The higher NAR was associated with a substantial increase in foliar nitrogen productivity in all ten Acacia species. Plant nitrogen concentration was unaltered by growth at elevated CO2 for the slow-growing Acacia species, but declined by 10% for faster-growing species. The rate of nitrogen uptake per unit root mass was higher in seven of the species when grown under elevated CO2, and leaf area per unit root mass was reduced by elevated CO2 in seven of the species. The absolute increase in RGR due to growth under elevated CO2 was greater for fast- than for slow-growing Acacia species.
The present study shows that the relative contributions of leaf area ratio (LAR) and net assimila... more The present study shows that the relative contributions of leaf area ratio (LAR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) to variation among species in relative growth rate (RGR) depend on growth temperature. We grew three subantarctic and three alpine Poa species at daytime temperatures of 7, 12 and 17 degrees C, and analysed interspecific and temperature-related variation in RGRs by growth analysis. Variation in NAR accounted for most of the interspecific differences in RGR at low growth temperature, whereas variation in both NAR and LAR contributed strongly to interspecific differences in RGR at high growth temperature. For most species, the increase in RGR from 7 to 12 degrees C was attributable to an increase in LAR, whereas the increase in RGR from 12 to 17 degrees C was attributable to an increase in NAR. There were no differences between native subantarctic and alpine species in the plasticity of growth responses to temperature. However, Poa annua, a species introduced to the subantarctic, showed much greater growth plasticity than other species. There was little difference among species in tolerance of high-temperature extremes.
Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding... more Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding of the relationship of carbon gain and loss to temperature. In a field study on Heard Island, we investigated the responses of photosynthesis and respiration of the sub-Antarctic megaherb Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. to temperature. This was done by instantaneously manipulating leaf temperature in a gas exchange cuvette on plants adapted to natural temperature variation along an altitudinal gradient. There was little altitudinal variation in the temperature response of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was much less responsive to temperature than electron transport, suggesting that Rubisco activity was generally the rate-limiting process. The temperature response of leaf respiration rates was greater in cold-grown (high altitude) plants compared with warm-grown (low altitude) plants. This thermal acclimation would enable plants to maintain a positive carbon budget over a greater temperature range.
Communications in Soil Science Plant Analysis, Nov 11, 2008
... Perennial Ryegrass1 Marcus Schortemeyer,a Hana Šantrůčková,b and Michael J. Sadowskyc ... Soi... more ... Perennial Ryegrass1 Marcus Schortemeyer,a Hana Šantrůčková,b and Michael J. Sadowskyc ... Soil suspensions (2.5 mL) were analyzed immediately for fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolytic activity according to the method of Schnuerer and Rosswall (1982). ...
Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding... more Understanding the response of sub-Antarctic plants to a warming climate requires an understanding of the relationship of carbon gain and loss to temperature. In a field study on Heard Island, we investigated the responses of photosynthesis and respiration of the sub-Antarctic megaherb Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. to temperature. This was done by instantaneously manipulating leaf temperature in a gas exchange cuvette on plants adapted to natural temperature variation along an altitudinal gradient. There was little altitudinal variation in the temperature response of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was much less responsive to temperature than electron transport, suggesting that Rubisco activity was generally the rate-limiting process. The temperature response of leaf respiration rates was greater in cold-grown (high altitude) plants compared with warm-grown (low altitude) plants. This thermal acclimation would enable plants to maintain a positive carbon budget over a greater temperat...
The growth reduction of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during and after waterlogging stress depends... more The growth reduction of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during and after waterlogging stress depends on the depth of water from the soil surface. In a pot experiment with 3-week-old plants, soil was waterlogged for 14 d at the surface, or at 100 or 200 mm below the surface, and pots were then drained to assess recovery. A fully drained treatment kept at field capacity served as control. During waterlogging, the relative growth rate of roots decreased more than that of shoots (by 6–27% for shoots, by 15–74% for roots), and plant growth was reduced proportionally as the water level was increased. Light-saturated net photosynthesis was reduced by 70–80% for the two most severe waterlogging treatments, but was little affected for plants in soil waterlogged at 200 mm below the surface. The number of adventitious roots formed per stem in plants grown in waterlogged soil increased up to 1.5 times, but the number of tillers per plant was reduced by 24–62%. The adventitious roots only penetrated 85–116 mm below the water level in all waterlogging treatments. Adventitious root porosity was enhanced up to 10-fold for plants grown in waterlogged soil, depending on water level and position along the roots. Porosity also increased in basal zones of roots above the water level when the younger tissues had penetrated the waterlogged zone. Fourteen days after draining the pots, growth rates of plants where the soil had been waterlogged at 200 mm below the surface had recovered, while those of plants in the more severely waterlogged treatments had only partially recovered. These findings show that the depth of waterlogging has a large impact on the response of wheat both during and after a waterlogging event so that assessment of recovery is essential in evaluating waterlogging tolerance in crops.
Increases in the global atmospheric concentration of CO2 will not only directly affect the growth... more Increases in the global atmospheric concentration of CO2 will not only directly affect the growth of plants, but might also alter the living conditions for soil biota. This could lead to shifts in the size and composition of the soil microbial communities. In this study we investigated the response of heterotrophic bacteria, NH4+-oxidising bacteria, and Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii populations
In this study we assessed the impact of elevated CO2 with unlimited water and complete nutrient o... more In this study we assessed the impact of elevated CO2 with unlimited water and complete nutrient on the growth and nitrogen economy of ten woody Acacia species that differ in relative growth rate (RGR). Specifically, we asked whether fast- and slow-growing species systematically differ in their response to elevated CO2. Four slow-growing species from semi-arid environments (Acacia aneura, A. colei, A. coriacea and A. tetragonophylla) and six fast-growing species from mesic environments (Acacia dealbata, A. implexa, A. mearnsii, A. melanoxylon, A. irrorata and A. saligna) were grown in glasshouses with either ambient (˜350 ppm) or elevated (˜700 ppm) atmospheric CO2. All species reached greater final plant mass with the exception of A. aneura, and RGR, averaged across all species, increased by 10% over a 12-week period when plants were exposed to elevated CO2. The stimulation of RGR was evident throughout the 12-week growth period. Elevated CO2 resulted in less foliage area per unit foliage dry mass, which was mainly the result of an increase in foliage thickness with a smaller contribution from greater dry matter content per unit fresh mass. The net assimilation rate (NAR, increase in plant mass per unit foliage area and time) of the plants grown at elevated CO2 was higher in all species (on average 30% higher than plants in ambient CO2) and was responsible for the increase in RGR. The higher NAR was associated with a substantial increase in foliar nitrogen productivity in all ten Acacia species. Plant nitrogen concentration was unaltered by growth at elevated CO2 for the slow-growing Acacia species, but declined by 10% for faster-growing species. The rate of nitrogen uptake per unit root mass was higher in seven of the species when grown under elevated CO2, and leaf area per unit root mass was reduced by elevated CO2 in seven of the species. The absolute increase in RGR due to growth under elevated CO2 was greater for fast- than for slow-growing Acacia species.
The present study shows that the relative contributions of leaf area ratio (LAR) and net assimila... more The present study shows that the relative contributions of leaf area ratio (LAR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) to variation among species in relative growth rate (RGR) depend on growth temperature. We grew three subantarctic and three alpine Poa species at daytime temperatures of 7, 12 and 17 degrees C, and analysed interspecific and temperature-related variation in RGRs by growth analysis. Variation in NAR accounted for most of the interspecific differences in RGR at low growth temperature, whereas variation in both NAR and LAR contributed strongly to interspecific differences in RGR at high growth temperature. For most species, the increase in RGR from 7 to 12 degrees C was attributable to an increase in LAR, whereas the increase in RGR from 12 to 17 degrees C was attributable to an increase in NAR. There were no differences between native subantarctic and alpine species in the plasticity of growth responses to temperature. However, Poa annua, a species introduced to the subantarctic, showed much greater growth plasticity than other species. There was little difference among species in tolerance of high-temperature extremes.
Uploads
Papers by Marcus Schortemeyer