Below-ground carbon allocation in mature beech and spruce trees following long-term, experimentally enhanced O3 exposure in Southern Germany

Canopies of adult European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) were labeled with CO2 depleted in 13C to evaluate carbon allocation belowground. One-half the trees were exposed to elevated O3 for 6 yrs prior to and during the experiment. Soil-gas sampling wells were placed at 8 and 15 cm and soil CO2 was sampled during labeling in mid-late August, 2006. In beech, δ13CO2 at both depths decreased approximately 50 h after labeling, reflecting rapid translocation of fixed C to roots and release through respiration. In spruce, label was detected in fine-root tissue, but there was no evidence of label in δ13CO2. The results show that C fixed in the canopy rapidly reaches respiratory pools in beech roots, and suggest that spruce may allocate very little of recently-fixed carbon into root respiration during late summer. A change in carbon allocation belowground due to long-term O3 exposure was not observed.