Increasing CO2 from subambient to superambient concentrations alters species composition and increases above-ground biomass in a C-3/C-4 grassland

The glacial-to-present increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration is likely to have stimulated plant production, but experimental tests in natural ecosystems are lacking. We measured above-ground biomass production, plant nitrogen (N) accumulation, and species dynamics in a C-3/C-4 grassland exposed for 4 yr (1997-2000) to a continuous gradient in CO2 from 200-560 mumol mol(-1). Biomass increased with CO2 concentration in 1997-99. Biomass increases ranged g m(-2) between 121 and 161 g m(-2) per 100 mumol mol(-1) rise in CO2 and were similar at subambient and superambient concentrations. Biomass responses to CO2 were determined by different species or functional groups of species during different years. Increasing CO2 accelerated a successional shift initiated by release from grazing in which C-3 forbs increased at the expense of a C-4 grass. Effects of CO2 on tissue N concentration varied among species and functional groups, but CO2 did not alter total N in above-ground tissues. Results imply that rising CO2 has stimulated plant production and accelerated successional change and that grasslands will remain sensitive to rising CO2 for several decades.