Abstract:Photosynthetic response of seedlings of two evergreen trees dorminant in a subtropical forest to long-term elevated CO2 were studied. Pot seedlings of Castanopsis fissa (Champ.) Rehd. et Wils. and Schima superba Gardn. et Champ. were grown in semi-open chambers with ambient (350 μL · L-1) CO2 concentration under natural light from June to September, 1993. Net photosynthetic rate of the plants exposed to elevated CO2 increased by 79%～95% than that of the plants in ambient CO2 atmosphere. But no significant difference was observed when measurement was done at either CO2 concentration, 350 μL · L-1 or 500 μL · L-1 The Ph-CO2 concen/ration response curves of plants growing in elevated CO2 were higher than that of plants growing in ambient (350μL · L-1 CO2). In addition, the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents dropped slightly and stomatal conductance decreased obviously under elevated atmospheric CO2, while the ratios of chlorophyll a to b and carotenoid to chlorophyll were unaltered. The results indicated that downward acclimation of phetosynthesis did not appear in both plant species when they were grown under prolonged exposure to high (500 μL · L-1) atmospheric CO2.