Effects of root temperature on growth and photosynthesis in conifer seedlings during shoot elongation

Growth and gas exchange characteristics were studied in pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and spruce (Picea abies Karst.) seedlings grown in hydroponic culture in the presence of N (50 mg l(-1)) and transferred at the start of their second growing season to tap water at 5, 8, 12, 16 or 20 degrees C (air temperature between 18-20 degrees C) for 3 weeks (pine) or 5 weeks (spruce). Root growth of both species was completely inhibited at root temperatures of 5 and 8 degrees C, but increased almost exponentially as root temperature increased. Shoot growth was maximal at 12 degrees C in both pine and spruce and decreased at low root temperatures. In both species, CO(2) uptake was decreased at low root temperatures and appeared to be influenced by the pattern of nitrogen retranslocation. In pine seedlings, as root temperature increased, an increasing proportion of the total nitrogen pool was retranslocated to the new shoot, whereas in spruce seedlings nitrogen was retranslocated to the roots. Differences in the retranslocation of nitrogen in the two species were reflected in the amount of soluble protein in needles, which at the end of the experiment increased with increasing root temperature in pine, but decreased in spruce. Our data suggest that in spruce, but not pine, CO(2) uptake was limited by the amount of Rubisco.