Responses to Ambient CO2 Concentrations by Sodium-Deficient C4 Plants
The signs of sodium deficiency in the C4 species Amaranthus tricolor and Atriplex spongiosa were alleviated when the species were grown in conditions of high CO2 concentration (1 500 �l CO2 1-1). In experiments in which A. tricolor was grown in conditions of low CO2 concentration (15 �l CO2 1-1), the signs of sodium deficiency were accentuated. The sodium-deficient plants resembled the C3 species Atriplex hastata and tomato in their response to the CO2 treatments. Growth and chlorophyll concentrations increased in both the sodium-deficient C4 plants and the C3 plants when they were grown in conditions of increased CO2 concentration. Sodium-sufficient C4 plants were relatively unaffected by the CO2 treatments.