Coastal marshes are highly valued for ecosystem services such as protecting inland habitats from storms, sequestering carbon, removing nutrients and other pollutants from surface water, and providing habitat for fish, shellfish, and birds. Because plants largely determine the structure and function of coastal marshes, quantifying plant biomass is essential for evaluating these ecosystem services, understanding the biogeochemic...

Elevated atmospheric CO 2 generally enhances plant growth, but the magnitude of the effects depend, in part, on nutrient availability and plant photosynthetic pathway. Due to their pivotal role in nutrient cycling, changes in abundance of detritivores could influence the effects of elevated atmospheric CO 2 on essential ecosystem processes, such as decomposition and primary production. We conducted a field survey and a microco...

An ongoing field study of the effects of elevated atmospheric CO 2 on a brackish wetland on Chesapeake Bay, started in 1987, is unique as the longest continually running investigation of the effects of elevated CO 2 on an ecosystem. Since the beginning of the study, atmospheric CO 2 increased 18%, sea level rose 20 cm, and growing season temperature varied with approximately the same range as predicted for global warming in th...

The rapid increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations ( C a ) has resulted in extensive research efforts to understand its impact on terrestrial ecosystems, especially carbon balance. Despite these efforts, there are relatively few data comparing net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 between the atmosphere and the biosphere ( NEE ), under both ambient and elevated C a . Here we report data on annual sums of CO 2 ( NEE net ) for 19 ye...

Wetlands evapotranspire more water than other ecosystems, including agricultural, forest and grassland ecosystems. However, the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration ( C a ) on wetland evapotranspiration (ET) are largely unknown. Here, we present data on 12 years of measurements of ET, net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE), and ecosystem water use efficiency (EWUE, i.e. NEE/ET) at 13:00–15:00 hours i...

A scrub‐oak woodland has maintained higher aboveground biomass accumulation after 11 years of atmospheric CO 2 enrichment (ambient +350 μmol CO 2 mol −1 ), despite the expectation of strong nitrogen (N) limitation at the site. We hypothesized that changes in plant available N and exploitation of deep sources of inorganic N in soils have sustained greater growth at elevated CO 2 . We employed a suite of assays performed in the...

The effects of elevated CO 2 on plant growth and insect herbivory have been frequently investigated over the past 20 years. Most studies have shown an increase in plant growth, a decrease in plant nitrogen concentration, an increase in plant secondary metabolites and a decrease in herbivory. However, such studies have generally overlooked the fact that increases in plant production could cause increases of herbivores per unit...

This study reports the aboveground biomass response of a fire‐regenerated Florida scrub‐oak ecosystem exposed to elevated CO 2 (1996–2007), from emergence after fire through canopy closure. Eleven years exposure to elevated CO 2 caused a 67% increase in aboveground shoot biomass. Growth stimulation was sustained throughout the experiment; although there was significant variability between years. The absolute stimulation of abo...

We examined the effects of elevated atmospheric CO 2 on soil carbon decomposition in an experimental anaerobic wetland system. Pots containing either bare C 4 ‐derived soil or the C 3 sedge Scirpus olneyi planted in C 4 ‐derived soil were incubated in greenhouse chambers at either ambient or twice‐ambient atmospheric CO 2 . We measured CO 2 flux from each pot, quantified soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization using δ 13 C, a...

Hurricane disturbances have profound impacts on ecosystem structure and function, yet their effects on ecosystem CO 2 exchange have not been reported. In September 2004, our research site on a fire‐regenerated scrub‐oak ecosystem in central Florida was struck by Hurricane Frances with sustained winds of 113 km h −1 and wind gusts as high as 152 km h −1 . We quantified the hurricane damage on this ecosystem resulting from defol...

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations ([CO 2 ]) generally increase plant photosynthesis in C 3 species, but not in C 4 species, and reduce stomatal conductance in both C 3 and C 4 plants. In addition, tissue nitrogen concentration ([N]) often fails to keep pace with enhanced carbon gain under elevated CO 2 , particularly in C 3 species. While these responses are well documented in many species, implications for pl...

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) often stimulates the growth of fine roots, yet there are few reports of responses of intact root systems to long‐term CO 2 exposure. We investigated the effects of elevated CO 2 on fine root growth using open top chambers in a scrub oak ecosystem at Kennedy Space Center, Florida for more than 7 years. CO 2 enrichment began immediately after a controlled burn, which simulated the natu...

Decomposition of Quercus myrtifolia leaf litter in a Florida scrub oak community was followed for 3 years in two separate experiments. In the first experiment, we examined the effects CO 2 and herbivore damage on litter quality and subsequent decomposition. Undamaged, chewed and mined litter generated under ambient and elevated (ambient+350 ppm V) CO 2 was allowed to decompose under ambient conditions for 3 years. Initial litt...

Increased atmospheric CO 2 concentration ( Ca ) produces a short‐term stimulation of photosynthesis and plant growth across terrestrial ecosystems. However, the long‐term response remains uncertain and is thought to depend on environmental constraints. In the longest experiment on natural ecosystem response to elevated Ca , we measured the shoot‐density, biomass and net CO 2 exchange (NEE) responses to elevated Ca from 1987 to...

Much research on the effects of elevated CO 2 on forest trees has focused on quantitative changes in photosynthesis, secondary chemistry, and plant biomass. However, plant fitness responses to rising CO 2 should also include quantitative measures of reproduction, since most forest systems are recruitment limited. Until now, it has proved very difficult to grow forest trees to sexual maturity in a CO 2 ‐enriched environment. Th...

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) represents small, random variation from symmetry in otherwise bilaterally symmetrical characters. Significant increases in FA have been found for several species of plants and animals in response to various stresses, including environmental and genetic factors. In this study, we investigated the effects of elevated CO 2 on leaf symmetry of two oak species, Quercus geminata and Q. myrtifolia , and the...

We report the results of a 2‐year study of effects of the elevated (current ambient plus 350 μmol CO 2 mol −1 ) atmospheric CO 2 concentration ( C a ) on net ecosystem CO 2 exchange ( NEE ) of a scrub–oak ecosystem. The measurements were made in open‐top chambers (OTCs) modified to function as open gas‐exchange systems. The OTCs enclosed samples of the ecosystem (ca. 10 m 2 surface area) that had regenerated after a fire, 5 ye...

Simultaneous measurements of net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE) were made in a Florida scrub‐oak ecosystem in August 1997 and then every month between April 2000 to July 2001, using open top chambers (NEE O ) and eddy covariance (NEE E ). This study provided a cross validation of these two different techniques for measuring NEE. Unique characteristics of the comparison were that the measurements were made simultaneously, in the...