Assessment of the CO₂ uptake capabilities and growth responses of selected grass species under elevated CO2
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Screening plants for their CO 2 uptake efficiency could contribute to better species, which could be an asset to future CO 2 mitigation programs. This study evaluated the flux in CO 2 within a CO 2 -controlled chamber having grass species, Megathyrsus maximus , Saccharum arundinaceum , Cymbopogon flexuosus , Chrysopogon zizanioides , Arundo donax and Pennicetum pedicellatum . The day flux of CO 2 (related to photosynthesis) and night flux of CO 2 (related to respiration) within the chambers were estimated. The net CO 2 exchange of grass species was also calculated to assess the actual CO 2 uptake capability for carbon sequestration. Regarding net day flux, S. arundinaceum (-338.64 ± 65.01ppm) showed better performance, followed by M. maximus , A. donax , P. pedicellatum , C. flexuosus and C. zizanioides . However, A. donax showed a higher net CO₂ exchange (-27.63 ± 11.42%) due to its lower respiratory contribution of CO₂ at night. While concerning overall morphology A. donax was on the last order, whereas M. maximus and S. arundinaceum were on the top. An equation was derived to estimate the CO 2 uptake per plant biomass, especially for chamber studies, in which S. arundinaceum showed more efficiency in CO 2 uptake per plant dry weight (8.008g CO 2 per Kg), followed by A. donax , C. flexuosus , P. pedicellatum , M. maximus , and C. zizanioides . Broad understanding from the study is that M. maximus and S. arundinaceum were more efficient in curbing CO 2 and since A. donax had higher CO 2 uptake capability and net CO 2 exchange it could also be employed in CO 2 mitigation with proper supplementation of nitrogen.
