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Title: FACE VALUE. PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE OF FREE AIR CO2 ENRICHMENT STUDIES

Author
item ROGERS, ALISTAIR - BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LAB
item Ainsworth, Elizabeth - Lisa
item KAMMANN, CLAUDIA - UNIVERSITY GIESSEN

Submitted to: Springer Verlag
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/12/2005
Publication Date: 6/1/2006
Citation: Rogers, A., Ainsworth, E.A., Kammann, C. 2006. FACE value. Perspectives on the future of free air CO2 enrichment studies. In: Nosberger, J. Long, S.P., Norby, R.J, Stitt, G.R., Hendrey, G.R. Blum H., editors. Managed ecosystems and CO2: Case studies, processes, and perspectives. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. p. 431-450.

Interpretive Summary: Free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) experiments increase the carbon dioxide concentration without using any enclosures. Plants grown in these experiments are exposed to completely natural environmental conditions, except the carbon dioxide concentration is increased to a level expected in the year 2050. These FACE experiments have been a valuable tool for investigating how plants will function in the future. We suggest that multidisciplinary teams of investigators are critical for integrating the results of these experiments. We also need more experiments that expose vegetation to other global change factors, such as increased temperature and ozone.

Technical Abstract: Free-air-CO2 enrichment studies have been a valuable tool for the investigation of plant and ecosystem responses to rising CO2 levels. The challenges for the next phase of FACE research are clear: (1) Multidisciplinary teams of investigators must take advantage of emerging technologies to significantly increase our mechanistic understanding of the responses that FACE experiments have confirmed will take place during the next century; (2) If we seek the ability to predict and understand how our managed, and natural, ecosystems will respond to the predicted multiple and concurrent changes in our environment, more interactions with other global change factors must be included in current and future FACE experiments.