The relationship between transpiration and nutrient uptake in wheat changes under elevated atmospheric CO2

Abstract

The impact of elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) on crops often includes a decrease in their nutrient concentrations where reduced transpiration-driven mass flow of nutrients has been suggested to play a role. We used two independent approaches, a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment in the South Eastern wheat belt of Australia and a simulation study employing the agricultural production systems simulator (APSIM), to show that transpiration (mm) and nutrient uptake (g m−2) of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and manganese (Mn) in wheat are correlated under e[CO2], but that nutrient uptake per unit water transpired is higher under e[CO2] than under ambient [CO2] (a[CO2]). This result suggests that transpiration-driven mass flow of nutrients contributes to decreases in nutrient concentrations under e[CO2], but cannot solely explain the overall decline.