Premium
Speculations on carbon dioxide starvation, Late Tertiary evolution of stomatal regulation and floristic modernization
Author(s) -
ROBINSON J. M.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3040.1994.tb00303.x
Subject(s) - carbon dioxide , taxon , biology , starvation , photosynthesis , botany , ecology , floristics , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , range (aeronautics) , endocrinology , materials science , composite material
Ambient atmospheric CO 2 concentration ([CO 2 ] a ) has apparently declined from values above 200μmol mol −1 to values below 200μmol mol −1 within the last several million years. The lower end of this range is marginal for C 3 plants. I hypothesize that: (1) declining [CO 2 ] a imposed a physiological strain on plants, and plant taxa evolving under declining [CO 2 ] a tended to develop compensating mechanisms, including increased stomatal efficiency; (2) angiosperms were better able to adjust to declining [CO 2 ] a than were gymnosperms and pteridophytes; and (3) angiosperm adjustment has been uneven. Fast‐evolving taxa (e.g. grasses and herbs) have been better able to adapt to CO 2 starvation. If these propositions are true, stomatal adjustment mechanisms should show patterned variation, and a single pattern of stomatal regulation cannot be assumed.