Temperature responses of photosynthesis and respiration in evergreen trees from boreal to tropical latitudes

Evergreen species are widespread across the globe, representing two major plant functional forms in terrestrial models. We reviewed and analysed the responses of photosynthesis and respiration to warming in 101 evergreen species from boreal to tropical biomes. Summertime temperatures affected both latitudinal gas exchange rates and the degree of responsiveness to experimental warming. The decrease in net photosynthesis at 25 degrees C (A(net25)) was larger with warming in tropical climates than cooler ones. Respiration at 25 degrees C (R-25) was reduced by 14% in response to warming across species and biomes. Gymnosperms were more sensitive to greater amounts of warming than broadleaved evergreens, with A(net25) and R-25 reduced c. 30-40% with > 10 degrees C warming. While standardised rates of carboxylation (V-cmax25) and electron transport (J(max25)) adjusted to warming, the magnitude of this adjustment was not related to warming amount (range 0.6-16 degrees C). The temperature optimum of photosynthesis (T-optA) increased on average 0.34 degrees C per degrees C warming. The combination of more constrained acclimation of photosynthesis and increasing respiration rates with warming could possibly result in a reduced carbon sink in future warmer climates. The predictable patterns of thermal acclimation across biomes provide a strong basis to improve modelling predictions of the future terrestrial carbon sink with warming

Ozone – the persistent menace: interactions with the N cycle and climate change

Tropospheric ozone is involved in a complex web of interactions with other atmospheric gases and particles, and through ecosystem interactions with the N-cycle and climate change. Ozone itself is a greenhouse gas, causing warming, and reductions in biomass and carbon sequestration caused by ozone provide a further indirect warming effect. Ozone also has cooling effects, however, for example, through impacts on aerosols and diffuse radiation. Ecosystems are both a source of ozone precursors (especially of hydrocarbons, but also nitrogen oxides), and a sink through deposition processes. The interactions with vegetation, atmospheric chemistry and aerosols are complex, and only partially understood. Levels and patterns of global exposure to ozone may change dramatically over the next 50 years, impacting global warming, air quality, global food production and ecosystem function

Interactive influences of ozone and climate on streamflow of forested watersheds

The capacity of forests to mitigate global climate change can be negatively influenced by tropospheric ozone that impairs both photosynthesis and stomatal control of plant transpiration, thus affecting ecosystem productivity and watershed hydrology. We have evaluated individual and interactive effects of ozone and climate on late season streamflow for six forested watersheds (38–970 000 ha) located in the Southeastern United States. Models were based on 18–26 year data records for each watershed and involved multivariate analysis of interannual variability of late season streamflow in response to physical and chemical climate during the growing season. In all cases, some combination of ozone variables significantly improved model performance over climate-only models. Effects of ozone and ozone × climate interactions were also consistently negative and were proportional to variations in actual ozone exposures, both spatially across the region and over time. Conservative estimates of the influence of ozone on the variability (R2) of observed flow ranged from 7% in the area of lowest ozone exposure in West Virginia to 23%in the areas of highest exposure in Tennessee. Our results are supported by a controlled field study using free-air concentration enrichment methodology which indicated progressive ozone-induced loss of stomatal control over tree transpiration during the summer in mixed aspen-birch stands. Despite the frequent assumption that ozone reduces tree water loss, our findings support increasing evidence that ozone at near ambient concentrations can reduce stomatal control of leaf transpiration, and increase water use. Increases in evapotranspiration and associated streamflow reductions in response to ambient ozone exposures are expected to episodically increase the frequency and severity of drought and affect flow-dependent aquatic biota in forested watersheds. Regional and global models of hydrologic cycles and related ecosystem functions should consider potential interactions of ozone with climate under both current and future warmer and ozone-enriched climatic conditions

Genetic controls of short- and long-term stomatal CO2 responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Background and Aims The stomatal conductance (g(s)) of most plant species decreases in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration. This response could have a significant impact on plant water use in a future climate. However, the regulation of the CO2 induced stomatal closure response is not fully understood. Moreover, the potential genetic links between short-term (within minutes to hours) and long-term (within weeks to months) responses of g(s) to increased atmospheric CO2 have not been explored. Methods We used Arabidopsis thaliana recombinant inbred lines originating from accessions Col-0 (strong CO2 response) and C24 (weak CO2 response) to study short- and long-term controls of g(s) Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping was used to identify loci controlling short- and long-term g(s) responses to elevated CO2 as well as other stomata-related traits. Key Results Short- and long-term stomatal responses to elevated CO2 were significantly correlated. Both short-and long-term responses were associated with a QTL, at the end of chromosome 2. The location of this QTL was confirmed using near-isogonic lines and it was fine-mapped to a 410-kb region. The QTL did not correspond to any known gene involved in stomatal closure and had no effect on the responsiveness to abscisic acid. Additionally, we identified numerous other loci associated with stomatal regulation. Conclusions We identified and confirmed the effect of a strong QTL corresponding to a yet unknown regulator of stomatal closure in response to elevated CO2 concentration. The correlation between short- and long-term stomatal CO2 responses and the genetic link between these traits highlight the importance of understanding guard cell CO2 signalling to predict and manipulate plant water use in a world with increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. This study demonstrates the power of using natural variation to unravel the genetic regulation of complex traits.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of simulated ozone effects in forest ecosystems against biomass damage estimates from fumigation experiments

Regional estimates of the effects of ozone pollution on forest growth depend on the availability of reliable injury functions that estimate a representative ecosystem response to ozone exposure. A number of such injury functions for forest tree species and forest functional types have recently been published and subsequently applied in terrestrial biosphere models to estimate regional or global effects of ozone on forest tree productivity and carbon storage in the living plant biomass. The resulting impacts estimated by these biosphere models show large uncertainty in the magnitude of ozone effects predicted. To understand the role that these injury functions play in determining the variability in estimated ozone impacts, we use the O-CN biosphere model to provide a standardised modelling framework. We test four published injury functions describing the leaf-level, photosynthetic response to ozone exposure (targeting the maximum carboxylation capacity of Rubisco (V$_{cmax}$) or net photosynthesis) in terms of their simulated whole-tree biomass responses against data from 23 ozone filtration/fumigation experiments conducted with young trees from European tree species at sites across Europe with a range of climatic conditions. Our results show that none of these previously published injury functions lead to simulated whole-tree biomass reductions in agreement with the observed dose–response relationships derived from these field experiments and instead lead to significant over- or underestimations of the ozone effect. By re-parameterising these photosynthetically based injury functions, we develop linear, plant-functional-typespecific dose–response relationships, which provide accurate simulations of the observed whole-tree biomass response across these 23 experiments

Evaluation of simulated biomass damage in forest ecosystems induced by ozone against observation-based estimates

Regional estimates of the effects of ozone pollution on forest growth depend on the availability of reliable damage functions that estimate a representative ecosystem response to ozone exposure. A number of such damage functions for forest tree species and forest functional types have recently been published and subsequently applied in terrestrial biosphere models to estimate regional or global effects of ozone on forest tree productivity and carbon storage in the living plant biomass. The resulting impacts estimated by these biosphere models show large uncertainty in the magnitude of ozone effects predicted. To understand the role that these damage functions play in determining the variability of estimated ozone impacts, we use the O-CN biosphere model to provide a standardised modelling framework. We test four published damage functions describing the leaf-level, photosynthetic response to ozone exposure (targeting Vcmax or net photosynthesis) in terms of their simulated whole-tree biomass responses against field data from 23 ozone filtration/fumigation experiments conducted with European tree species at sites across Europe with a range of climatic conditions. Our results show that none of these previously published damage functions lead to simulated whole-tree biomass reductions in agreement with the observed dose-response relationships derived from these field experiments, and instead lead to significant over- / or underestimations of the ozone effect. By reparameterising these photosynthetic based damage functions we develop linear, plant functional type specific dose-response relationships, which provide accurate simulations of the observed whole-tree biomass response across these 23 experiments

Implementation of trait-based ozone plant sensitivity in the Yale interactive terrestrial biosphere model v1.0 to assess global vegetation damage

A major limitation in modeling global ozone (O3) vegetation damage has long been the reliance on empiri- cal O3 sensitivity parameters derived from a limited num- ber of species and applied at the level of plant functional types (PFTs), which ignore the large interspecific variations within the same PFT. Here, we present a major advance in large-scale assessments of O3 plant injury by linking the trait leaf mass per area (LMA) and plant O3 sensitivity in a broad and global perspective. Application of the new ap- proach and a global LMA map in a dynamic global veg- etation model reasonably represents the observed interspe- cific responses to O3 with a unified sensitivity parameter for all plant species. Simulations suggest a contemporary global mean reduction of 4.8 % in gross primary productivity by O3, with a range of 1.1 %–12.6 % for varied PFTs. Hotspots with damage > 10 % are found in agricultural areas in the eastern US, western Europe, eastern China, and India, accompanied by moderate to high levels of surface O3. Furthermore, we simulate the distribution of plant sensitivity to O3, which is highly linked with the inherent leaf trait trade-off strategies of plants, revealing high risks for fast-growing species with low LMA, such as crops, grasses, and deciduous trees

A test of the 'one-point method' for estimating maximum carboxylation capacity from field-measured, light-saturated photosynthesis

Simulations of photosynthesis by terrestrial biosphere models typically need a specification of the maximum carboxylation rate (Vcmax). Estimating this parameter using A–Ci curves (net photosynthesis, A, vs intercellular CO2 concentration, Ci) is laborious, which limits availability of Vcmax data. However, many multispecies field datasets include net photosynthetic rate at saturating irradiance and at ambient atmospheric CO2 concentration (Asat) measurements, from which Vcmax can be extracted using a 'one-point method'.\ud \ud We used a global dataset of A–Ci curves (564 species from 46 field sites, covering a range of plant functional types) to test the validity of an alternative approach to estimate Vcmax from Asat via this 'one-point method'.\ud \ud If leaf respiration during the day (Rday) is known exactly, Vcmax can be estimated with an r2 value of 0.98 and a root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of 8.19 μmol m−2 s−1. However, Rday typically must be estimated. Estimating Rday as 1.5% of Vcmax, we found that Vcmax could be estimated with an r2 of 0.95 and an RMSE of 17.1 μmol m−2 s−1.\ud \ud The one-point method provides a robust means to expand current databases of field-measured Vcmax, giving new potential to improve vegetation models and quantify the environmental drivers of Vcmax variation