Growth responses of Melastoma malabathricum to elevated carbon dioxide and water regime

Elevated atmospheric CO2 has significant effects on plant growth depending on the species and the interaction between treatments given. In other words, the impacts vary among species, depending on differences in photosynthetic pathways, intrinsic growth rates and other properties. In this research we studied the effects of increased carbon dioxide concentration and water regimes on a shrub species, Melastoma malabathricum in a shade house at ambient CO2 and open roof greenhouse at elevated CO2. The factor of water stress was also included, in which for each CO2 treatment, the amount of water was given once or twice daily. The treatment of elevated CO2 was at 800 ppm, when the plants were exposed daily from 0900h until 1100h. The plant growth was monitored through their biomass, height and leaf area that were recorded fortnightly for six months. The results showed that the height of M. malabathricum stem in elevated CO2 was significantly higher than those in ambient CO2. Similarly, leaf area in the elevate...