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Rising CO2 Levels and the Fecundity of Forest Trees
Shannon L. LaDeau,*James
S. Clark
We determined the reproductive response of 19-year-old loblolly
pine (Pinus taeda) to 4 years of carbon dioxide
(CO2) enrichment(ambient concentration plus 200 microliters per liter) in an intactforest. After 3 years of
CO2 fumigation, trees were twice as likelyto be
reproductively mature and produced three times as many conesand seeds
as trees at ambient CO2 concentration. A disproportionatecarbon allocation to reproduction under CO2 enrichment
resultsin trees reaching maturity sooner and at a smaller size. Thisreproductive response to future increases in atmospheric
CO2 concentrationis expected to change loblolly dispersal
and recruitment patterns.
Department of Biology and University Program in Ecology, Duke
University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
sll8{at}duke.edu
