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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

A CO2 Concentration Gradient Facility for Testing CO2 Enrichment and Soil Effects on Grassland Ecosystem Function
Published on: November 21, 2015
Differences in relative growth rate in 11 grasses correlate with differences in chemical composition as determined by
Gerard J Niemann1,2, Jos B M Pureveen2, Gert B Eijkel2
1Department of Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Utrecht, P.O. Box 800.84, 3508. TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Eleven grass species varying in potential relative growth rate (RGR) were investigated for differences in chemical composition by pyrolysis mass spectrometry. The spectral data revealed correlations between RGR and the relative composition of several biopolymers. Species with a low potential RGR contained relatively more cell wall material such as lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose, polysaccharide-bound ferulic acid and hydroxyproline-rich protein, whereas species with a high potential RGR showed relatively more cytoplasmic elements such as protein (other than those incorporated in cell walls) and sterols.
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