Compare Eco-physiological Responses of Two Life-Form Plants to Elevated Carbon Dioxide: A Meta-analysis

Comparing different eco-physiological responses to atmospheric CO₂ enrichment between woody and herbaceous plants had profound meaning in speculating variation of vegetation composition and stand structure under global climate change. Based on the independent experiment results of 64 trees (39 genera) and 77 grasses (54 genera), the plant responses were summarized with a meta-analysis. In the study, it was found herbaceous plants would allot more increased biomass to above-ground parts which suggested elevated CO₂ maybe increase its coverage. Although photosynthesis rates of woody and herbaceous plants didn´t significantly different, herbaceous total nonstructural carbohydrate as anabolic production was significantly more. It also showed that elevated CO₂ had significantly positive effects on water use efficiency in both herbaceous and woody plants, via reduction in stomotal conductance. Although the differences between their responses weren´t significant, we could still detect in some aspects that herbaceous plants would be more benefited from increased atmospheric CO₂ than woody plants.