Changes in growth dynamics and mineral nutrient concentrations were measured in Populus tremuloides Michx., trembling aspen, grown for 100 days following germination in atmospheres containing 350 or 750 microl l(-1) CO(2). Seedlings were fertilized with nitrogen (N) at concentrations of 15.5 mM (high-N), 1.55 mM (medium-N), or 0.155 mM (low-N). Initially, relative growth rates were enhanced by CO(2) enrichment in each N regime, but the effects did not persist. In plants grown in high-N or medium-N, foliar concentrations of Ca and Mg decreased in response to CO(2) enrichment. During the 100-day study, whole-plant concentrations of N and P decreased in all treatments. The decreases in mineral nutrient concentrations over time were accelerated in CO(2)-enriched plants and accompanied the disappearance of the CO(2)-induced growth enhancement. It is concluded that the depression of relative growth rates often associated with long-term CO(2) enrichment of plants may result from decreases in plant nutrient status.

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The effects of two levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (350 microl l(-1), 750 microl l(-1)) and three levels of nitrogen (15.5 mM, 1.55 mM, 0.155 mM N) on biomass accumulation and partitioning were examined in aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings grown in controlled environment rooms for 100 days after germination. Nitrogen supply had pronounced effects on biomass accumulation, height, and leaf area of both species. Root weight ratio (RWR) of white spruce was significantly increased at the lowest level of nitrogen, whereas RWR of aspen did not change much with increasing levels of nitrogen. Carbon dioxide enrichment significantly increased (1) the leaf and total biomass of spruce seedlings grown in the high-N regime, (2) the RWR of seedlings in the medium-N regime, and (3) the root biomass of seedlings in the low-N regime after 100 days. Carbon dioxide enrichment of aspen temporarily increased biomass and height in all three nitrogen regimes. Root, stem, and leaf mass, height, and leaf area of aspen were increased only at the 30-day harvest in the high-N treatment and at 50 and 60 days in the low-N treatment. Height, stem biomass, and leaf biomass of aspen seedlings were significantly increased by CO(2) enrichment after 40 days in the medium-N treatment. These effects did not persist, possibly because of the onset of mineral nutrient supply limitations with increasing plant size.

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In southern coastal British Columbia, red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) is recommended for reforestation on some low-elevation, fertile, and moist sites (e.g., alluvial sites). Correlative data indicate that P deficiencies limit the growth of alder in low-pH soils; deficiencies of P and other elements may also develop in the presence of an alder stand. Because alder may be grown in repeated rotations on alluvial sites, we sought to determine whether elemental deficiencies were likely in soils from mature stands. We examined the effects of P additions (as triple super phosphate) and liming (as dolomitic limestone) on potted red alder seedlings grown in soils from mature alluvial alder stands. Four soils were "low-pH" (mean = 4.5) and two were "high-pH" (mean = 5.5); all were classified as very rich. Growth of unfertilized seedlings was greatest in the soil with the highest soil Bray-P levels. Growth rates increased with P supply, but the response decreased with increasing Bray-P and was less in the high-pH soils. Liming increased soil pH and uptake of Mg, but did not increase growth. Phosphorus additions increased growth mainly by increasing P uptake, leaf size, and biomass allocation to branches. Photosynthetic rates were highest in the intermediate P treatment, but instantaneous water use efficiency increased with P rate. Phosphorus deficiencies may limit the growth of alder seedlings in alluvial soils previously containing mature alder stands.