Premium
Environmental and physiological determinants of carbon isotope discrimination in terrestrial plants
Author(s) -
Cernusak Lucas A.,
Ubiererea,
Winter Klaus,
Holtum Joseph A. M.,
Marshall John D.,
Farquhar Graham D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.12423
Subject(s) - crassulacean acid metabolism , terrestrial plant , photosynthesis , isotopes of carbon , stomatal conductance , carbon fixation , carbon fibers , range (aeronautics) , total inorganic carbon , environmental change , isotope , botany , carbon cycle , biology , ecology , environmental science , environmental chemistry , chemistry , carbon dioxide , climate change , total organic carbon , ecosystem , physics , materials science , composite number , composite material , quantum mechanics
Summary Stable carbon isotope ratios (δ 13 C ) of terrestrial plants are employed across a diverse range of applications in environmental and plant sciences; however, the kind of information that is desired from the δ 13 C signal often differs. At the extremes, it ranges between purely environmental and purely biological. Here, we review environmental drivers of variation in carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in terrestrial plants, and the biological processes that can either damp or amplify the response. For C 3 plants, where Δ is primarily controlled by the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO 2 concentrations ( c i / c a ), coordination between stomatal conductance and photosynthesis and leaf area adjustment tends to constrain the potential environmentally driven range of Δ. For C 4 plants, variation in bundle‐sheath leakiness to CO 2 can either damp or amplify the effects of c i / c a on Δ. For plants with crassulacean acid metabolism ( CAM ), Δ varies over a relatively large range as a function of the proportion of daytime to night‐time CO 2 fixation. This range can be substantially broadened by environmental effects on Δ when carbon uptake takes place primarily during the day. The effective use of Δ across its full range of applications will require a holistic view of the interplay between environmental control and physiological modulation of the environmental signal.ContentsSummary 950 I. Introduction 950 II. Carbon isotope discrimination 951 III. The C 3 photosynthetic pathway 951 IV. The C 4 photosynthetic pathway 957 V. Crassulacean acid metabolism 959 VI. Conclusion 961Acknowledgements 961Reference 961