Effects of [CO2] and nitrogen on morphological and biomass traits of white birch (Betula papyrifera) seedlings

To investigate the interactive effects of CO₂ concentration (CO₂]) and nitrogen supply on the growth and biomass of boreal trees, white birch seedlings (Betula papyrifera) were grown under ambient (360 μmol mol⁻¹) and elevated CO₂] (720 μmol mol⁻¹) with five nitrogen supply regimes (10, 80, 150, 220, and 290 μmol mol⁻¹) in greenhouses. After 90 days of treatment, seedling height, root-collar diameter, biomass of different organs, leaf N concentration, and specific leaf area (SLA) were measured. Significant interactive effects of CO₂] and N supply were found on height, root-collar diameter, leaf biomass, stem biomass and total biomass, stem mass ratio (SMR), and root mass ratio (RMR), but not on root mass, leaf mass ratio (LMR), leaf to root ratio (LRR), or leaf N concentration. The CO₂ elevation generally increased all the growth and biomass parameters and the increases were generally greater at higher levels of N supply or higher leaf N concentration. However, the CO₂ elevation significantly reduced SLA (13.4%) and mass-based leaf N concentration but did not affect area-based leaf N concentration. Increases in N supply generally increased the growth and biomass parameters, but the relationships were generally curvilinear. Based on a second order polynomial model, the optimal leaf N concentration was 1.33 g m⁻² for height growth under ambient CO₂] and 1.52 g m⁻² under doubled CO₂]; 1.48 g m⁻² for diameter under ambient CO₂] and 1.64 g m⁻² under doubled CO₂]; 1.29 g m⁻² for stem biomass under ambient CO₂] and 1.43 g m⁻² under doubled CO₂]. The general trend is that the optimal leaf N was higher at doubled than ambient CO₂]. However, CO₂] did not affect the optimal leaf N for leaf and total biomass. The CO₂ elevation significantly increased RMR and SMR but decreased LMR and LRR. LMR increased and RMR decreased with the increasing N supply. SMR increased with increase N supply up to 80 μmol mol⁻¹ and then leveled off (under elevated CO₂]) or stated to decline (under ambient CO₂]) with further increases in N supply. The results suggest that the CO₂ elevation increased biomass accumulation, particularly stem biomass and at higher N supply. The results also suggest that while modest N fertilization will increase seedling growth and biomass accumulation, excessive application of N may not stimulate further growth or even result in growth decline.