ARS | Publication request: Elevated CO2 alters plant & microbial communities in the shortgrass steppe

Submitted to: Shortgrass Steppe Symposium
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 11, 2007
Publication Date: January 11, 2007
Repository URL: http://sgslter.colostate.edu/News/sgs_symposium_07/abstracts/Morgan_abstract.pdf
Citation: Morgan, J.A., Kandeler, E., Milchunas, D.G., Lecain, D.R., Mosier, A.R., King, J.Y., Parton, W.J., Rudolph, S., Tscherko, D. 2007. Elevated CO2 alters plant & microbial communities in the shortgrass steppe. Shortgrass Steppe Symposium, January 2007, Ft. Collins, CO.

Technical Abstract: Doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [CO2] in Open Top Chambers (OTC) installed over native Colorado shortgrass steppe increased the productivity of C3 grasses from 1997-1999, and progressively increased plant cover of Artemisia frigida, fringed sage, a common shrub of North American and Asian native grasslands. Changes in the abundance of fungal phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) extracted from soils in the final two years of the experiment indicated a shift in the microbial community towards more fungal dominance. The results suggest that rising atmospheric [CO2] has the potential to cause substantive changes in grasslands due to both plant and microbial community responses.