Below-ground carbon allocation in mature beech and spruce trees following long-term, experimentally enhanced O3 exposure in Southern Germany

Canopies of adult European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) were labeled with CO2 depleted in C-13 to evaluate carbon allocation belowground. One-half the trees were exposed to elevated O-3 for 6 yrs prior to and during the experiment. Soil-gas sampling wells were placed at 8 and 15 cm and soil CO2 was sampled during labeling in mid-late August, 2006. In beech, delta(CO2)-C-13 at both depths decreased approximately 50 h after labeling, reflecting rapid translocation of fixed C to roots and release through respiration. In spruce, label was detected in fine-root tissue, but there was no evidence of label in delta(CO2)-C-13. The results show that C fixed in the canopy rapidly reaches respiratory pools in beech roots, and suggest that spruce may allocate very little of recently-fixed carbon into root respiration during late summer. A change in carbon allocation belowground due to long-term O-3 exposure was not observed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.