EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC CO2 ENRICHMENT ON THE GROWTH OF A DESERT SUCCULENT - AGAVE VILMORINIANA BERGER

Small well-watered 'plantlets' of Agave vilmoriniana Berger collected from the flower stalk of a single parent plant were grown out-of-doors at Phoenix, Arizona in clear-plastic-wall open-top enclosures exposed to ambient air and air enriched with CO2 to 300 mu l. l(-1) above amb ient. Analysis of 12 harvests of three plantings conducted over a peri od of 4 years revealed a temperature-dependent CO2-induced growth enha ncement for this desert succulent. The linear function used to describ e the relationship was indistinguishable from a similar relationship p reviously derived for 16 non-CAM plants. (C)1995 Academic Press Limite d