Chen, H.; Markham, J. The Interactive Effect of Elevated CO2 and Herbivores on the Nitrogen-Fixing Plant Alnus incana ssp. rugosa. Plants2021, 10, 440.
Chen, H.; Markham, J. The Interactive Effect of Elevated CO2 and Herbivores on the Nitrogen-Fixing Plant Alnus incana ssp. rugosa. Plants 2021, 10, 440.
Chen, H.; Markham, J. The Interactive Effect of Elevated CO2 and Herbivores on the Nitrogen-Fixing Plant Alnus incana ssp. rugosa. Plants2021, 10, 440.
Chen, H.; Markham, J. The Interactive Effect of Elevated CO2 and Herbivores on the Nitrogen-Fixing Plant Alnus incana ssp. rugosa. Plants 2021, 10, 440.
Abstract
Many studies have found that future predicted CO2 levels (< 800 ppm) can increase plant mass but dilute N content in leaves, impacting antiherbivore compounds. Nitrogen-fixing plants may balance leaf C:N ratio under elevated CO2, counteracting this dilution effect. The aim of this study was to look at how nitrogen-fixing plants grow and respond to herbivore damage at different CO2 levels. Alnus incana ssp. rugosa was grown at 400, 800, or 1600 ppm CO2 in soil collected from the field, inoculated with Frankia and exposed to herbivores (Orgyia leucostigma). Elevated CO2 increased nodulated plant biomass and stimulated the nitrogen fixation rate in the early growth stage. However, nitrogen-fixing plants were not able to balance the C:N ratio under elevated CO2 after grown 19 weeks. When plant were grown at 400 and 1600 ppm CO2, herbivores preferred to feed on leaves of nodulated plants. At 800 ppm CO2, nodulated plants accumulated more total phenolic compounds in response to herbivore damage than plants in the non-Frankia and non-herbivore treatments. Our results suggest that plant leaf defence, not leaf nutritional content, is the dominant driver of herbivory and nitrogen fixing plants have limited ability to balance C:N ratios at elevated CO2 in natural soil.
Keywords
elevated CO2; nitrogen-fixing plants; herbivores; total phenolic compounds; C:N ratio
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Anatomy and Physiology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
