ABSTRACT
In this last chapter, we look at the effects of elevated CO2 on growth and yield under well-watered conditions. We de£ne “growth” as “an increase in size, or weight” or “the amount of this [increase]” (Friend and Guralnik 1959). We de£ne “yield” as the “aggregate of products resulting from the growth or cultivation of a crop and usually expressed in quantity per area” (Barnes and Beard 1992b). Yield commonly refers to the product consumed or marketed. In Chapter 1, we considered the effects of elevated levels of CO2 on growth and yield of plants under drought, and in Chapter 6 the focus was root growth. In this chapter, our interest will be on aboveground growth and yield. We devote a chapter to growth and yield, because they integrate all factors that affect a plant during its life cycle. In any plant-water relations experiment, a measure of growth (e.g., height, biomass) should be included (Kirkham 2005, p. 6).
