The Mechanisms Responsible for N Deficiency in Well-Watered Wheat Under Elevated CO(2)

Elevated CO(2) concentration [e(CO(2))] often promotes plant growth with a decrease in tissue N concentration. In this study, three experiments, two under hydroponic and one in well-watered soil, including various levels or patterns of CO(2), humidity, and N supply were conducted on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to explore the mechanisms of e[CO(2)]-induced N deficiency (ECIND). Under hydroponic conditions, N uptake remained constant even as transpiration was limited 40% by raising air relative humidity and only was reduced about 20% by supplying N during nighttime rather than daytime with a reduction of 85% in transpiration. Compared to ambient CO(2) concentration, whether under hydroponic or well-watered soil conditions, and whether transpiration was kept stable or decreased to 12%, e[CO(2)] consistently led to more N uptake and higher biomass, while lower N concentration was observed in aboveground organs, especially leaves, as long as N supply was insufficient. These results show that, due to compensation caused by active uptake, N uptake can be uncoupled from water uptake under well-watered conditions, and changes in transpiration therefore do not account for ECIND. Similar or lower tissue [Formula: see text]-N concentration under e[CO(2)] indicated that [Formula: see text] assimilation was not limited and could therefore also be eliminated as a major cause of ECIND under our conditions. Active uptake has the potential to bridge the gap between N taken up passively and plant demand, but is limited by the energy required to drive it. Compared to ambient CO(2) concentration, the increase in N uptake under e[CO(2)] failed to match the increase of carbohydrates, leading to N dilution in plant tissues, the apparent dominant mechanism explaining ECIND. Lower N concentration in leaves rather than roots under e[CO(2)] validated that ECIND was at least partially also related to changes in resource allocation, apparently to maintain root uptake activity and prevent more serious N deficiency.