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No evidence for triose phosphate limitation of light‐saturated leaf photosynthesis under current atmospheric CO 2 concentration
Author(s) -
Kumarathunge Dushan P.,
Medlyn Belinda E.,
Drake John E.,
Rogers Alistair,
Tjoelker Mark G.
Publication year - 2019
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/pce.13639
Subject(s) - photosynthesis , tundra , botany , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , chemistry , biology , ecology , ecosystem , physics
The triose phosphate utilization ( TPU ) rate has been identified as one of the processes that can limit terrestrial plant photosynthesis. However, we lack a robust quantitative assessment of TPU limitation of photosynthesis at the global scale. As a result, TPU , and its potential limitation of photosynthesis, is poorly represented in terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). In this study, we utilized a global data set of photosynthetic CO 2 response curves representing 141 species from tropical rainforests to Arctic tundra. We quantified TPU by fitting the standard biochemical model of C 3 photosynthesis to measured photosynthetic CO 2 response curves and characterized its instantaneous temperature response. Our results demonstrate that TPU does not limit leaf photosynthesis at the current ambient atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Furthermore, our results showed that the light‐saturated photosynthetic rates of plants growing in cold environments are not more often limited by TPU than those of plants growing in warmer environments. In addition, our study showed that the instantaneous temperature response of TPU is distinct from temperature response of the maximum rate of Rubisco carboxylation. The new formulations of the temperature response of TPU derived in this study may prove useful in quantifying the biochemical limits to terrestrial plant photosynthesis and improve the representation of plant photosynthesis in TBMs.