Growth strategies as determinants of CO2 sequestration and response to nitrogen fertilisation in C4 grasses in South American natural grasslands
Anderson Cesar Ramos Marques
A F , Leandro Bittencourt de Oliveira B , Raíssa Schwalbert A , Bianca Knebel Del Frari A , Gustavo Brunetto C , Fernando Luiz Ferreira de Quadros D , Carlos Nabinger E and Fernando Teixeira Nicoloso A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Roraima Avenue 1000, CEP 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
B Integrated Regional University of Alto Uruguai and Missões (URI), Frederico Westphalen, RS, Brazil.
C Soil Department, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
D Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
E Department of Forage Plants and Agrometeorology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
F Corresponding author. Email: acrmarques@hotmail.com.br
Crop and Pasture Science 71(8) 776-784 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP19301
Submitted: 23 July 2019 Accepted: 6 July 2020 Published: 5 August 2020
Abstract
Grass species grown in South American natural grasslands present different growth strategies related to variations in specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and possible nitrogen (N) allocation. Nitrogen fertilisation can have effects on physiological processes such as CO2 assimilation; however, these responses can change depending on the growth strategy adopted by each species. The aim of the present study is to determine the effects of N fertilisation on SLA, LDMC and CO2 assimilation in eight C4 grass species: Axonopus affinis, Paspalum pumilum, P. notatum, P. urvillei, P. plicatulum, Andropogon lateralis, Saccharum angustifolium and Aristida laevis. These species were cultivated in pots filled with soil subjected to two conditions of N availability: nil (control) and 200 mg N kg–1 soil. The SLA of Axonopus affinis was 5.4 times higher than that of Aristida laevis. Axonopus affinis and P. pumilum recorded the lowest LDMC, their leaves showed 53% lower LDMC than observed for Aristida laevis, on average. Resource-capture species showed variation in leaf area with N addition to values 20% higher than the control, whereas species characterised by a resource-conservation growth strategy recorded variation in leaf area with N addition to values only 8% higher than the control. With N addition, the CO2 assimilation of resource-capture species represented variation (increase) nine times that of resource-conservation species compared with their respective controls. Resource-capture species have greater CO2 capture potential than resource-conservation species, mainly a result of N addition.
Additional keywords: leaf nitrogen, leaf traits, Rubisco.
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