Elevated Carbon Dioxide: Impacts on Soil and Plant Water Relations - Hardcover

M.B. Kirkham

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1439855048 ISBN 13: 9781439855041

Publisher: CRC Press, 2011

Synopsis

Between 1958 and 2008, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere increased from 316 to 385 ppm. Continued increases in CO2 concentration will significantly affect long-term climate change, including variations in agricultural yields. Focusing on this critical issue, Elevated Carbon Dioxide: Impacts on Soil and Plant Water Relations presents research conducted on field-grown sorghum, winter wheat, and rangeland plants under elevated CO2. It describes specific results from pioneering experiments performed over a seven-year period in the Evapotranspiration Laboratory at Kansas State University, along with experiments appearing in peer-reviewed journal articles.

Select articles from the literature serve as examples in the text. For each paper discussed, the author includes the common and scientific name of the plant under investigation. For each experiment, the author provides the type of soil used (if given in the original article) and general conditions of the experiment. All references are carefully documented so that readers can easily find the original source.

The first chapter of the book deals with drought, the three types of photosynthesis, and how water moves through the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum. With a focus on soil, the next several chapters discuss the composition of the soil atmosphere, the interaction of elevated CO2 with physical factors that affect root growth, variable oxygen concentration of soil, and when the atmosphere above soil is elevated with CO2.

The author goes on to examine the use of carbon isotope ratios in plant science; the effects of elevated CO2 on plant water, osmotic, and turgor potentials; and stomata under elevated CO2, including stomatal conductance and density. The text also explains the effects of elevated CO2 on transpiration and evapotranspiration, explores historic

About this title

About the Author:

M.B. Kirkham is a professor in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University. Dr. Kirkham is an editorial board member of several journals, including Crop Science and Soil Science. Dr. Kirkham has authored or co-authored over 200 articles in scientific journals and has been a recipient of the Carl Sprengel Agronomic Research Award of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Research Award of the Crop Science Society of America. Kirkham is a graduate of Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA.

Review:

"Plenty has been written about concerns over elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere, but a Kansas State University researcher has found an upside to the higher CO2 levels. And it's been particularly relevant in light of drought that overspread the area in recent months. ... The research showed that sorghum and winter wheat used water more efficiently as a result of the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. ... Studies done subsequent to the early work confirmed the findings."
--Mary Lou Peter, K-State Today, March 26, 2013

"This meticulously detailed work describes the literature surrounding plant and soil response to drought and elevated CO^D[2. ... Attractive features are the frequent diversions to review the history and fundamental science behind topics under discussion. The volume includes brief biographies of persons of historical importance in the field at the end of each chapter, as well as over 200 high-quality figures. ... Summing Up: Recommended."
-- CHOICE Magazine, May 2012

"This is a book for the specialist/researcher though the explanation of principles, the many examples, and the considerable bibliography also constitute a valuable resource for lecturers. Moreover, the considerable detail on theory and practice is a welcome addition to the global warming literature which is sometimes based more on rhetoric than on tact but at £82 it will likely only be a library purchase and then only in a limited number of libraries."
-- Bulletin of the British Ecological Society, 2011

About this edition

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1439855048
• ISBN 13: 9781439855041
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416