Date of Award

Summer 2002

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Frank P. Day, Jr.

Committee Member

Kneeland K. Nesius

Committee Member

Rebecca D. Bray

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 H46 2002

Abstract

Minirhizotron images are assigned color codes to approximate the age of individual roots in situ. Triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) has been used to measure the vitality of plant tissue by detecting dehydrogenase activity. TTC was used to assess the vitality of root tissue by color in a scrub oak ecosystem at Kennedy Space Center in central Florida. Roots were excavated, sorted into four color classes and stained with TTC. The product of the reduction of TTC by dehydrogenase enzyme, formazan, was extracted and its absorbance recorded using a spectrophotometer. A significant difference (p2 enrichment being conducted on a scrub oak ecosystem. Root length density of each color class was measured and tested for the response to CO2 enrichment. Each color class was treated as a separate response variable in a MANOVA design with CO2 treatment and depth as explanatory variables. The MANOVA revealed a significant response of roots of different color classes to elevated CO2. These findings suggest that CO2 enrichment increases root growth regardless of root age and have implications for understanding the longevity of fine root response to elevated atmospheric CO2.

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DOI

10.25777/f16n-z421

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