High C3 photosynthetic capacity and high intrinsic water use efficiency underlies the high productivity of the bioenergy grass Arundo donax.

ABSTRACT: Arundo donax has attracted interest as a potential bioenergy crop due to a high apparent productivity. It uses C3 photosynthesis yet appears competitive with C4 grass biomass feedstock's and grows in warm conditions where C4 species might be expected to be that productive. Despite this there has been no systematic study of leaf photosynthetic properties. This study determines photosynthetic and photorespiratory parameters for leaves in a natural stand of A. donax growing in southern Portugal. We hypothesise that A. donax has a high photosynthetic potential in high and low light, stomatal limitation to be small and intrinsic water use efficiency unusually low. High photosynthetic rates in A. donax resulted from a high capacity for both maximum Rubisco (Vc,max 117 μmol CO2 m(-2) s(-1)) and r

SUBMITTER: Webster RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4748246 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature