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Plant carbon assimilation rates in atmospheric CO 2 reconstructions
Author(s) -
Reichgelt Tammo,
D'Andrea William J.
Publication year - 2019
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.15914
Subject(s) - assimilation (phonology) , carbon assimilation , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric carbon cycle , carbon fibers , photosynthesis , carbon cycle , astrobiology , chemistry , biology , botany , ecology , ecosystem , materials science , geology , philosophy , linguistics , composite number , composite material
Summary Fossil plant gas‐exchange‐based CO 2 reconstructions use carbon (C) assimilation rates of extant plant species as substitutes for assimilation rates of fossil plants. However, assumptions in model species adoption can lead to systematic error propagation. We used a dataset of c . 2500 extant species to investigate the role of phylogenetic relatedness and ecology in determining C assimilation, an essential variable in gas‐exchange‐based CO 2 models. We evaluated the effect on random and systematic error propagation in atmospheric CO 2 caused by adopting different model species. Phylogenetic relatedness, growth form, and solar exposure are important predictors of C assimilation rate. CO 2 reconstructions that apply C assimilation rates from modern species based solely on phylogenetic relatedness to fossil species can result in CO 2 estimates that are systematically biased by a factor of > 2. C assimilation rates used in CO 2 reconstructions should be determined by averaging assimilation rates of modern plant species that are (1) in the same family and (2) have a similar habit and habitat as the fossil plant. In addition, systematic bias potential and random error propagation are greatly reduced when CO 2 is reconstructed from multiple fossil plant species with different modern relatives at the same site.