C₄ photosynthesis and climate through the lens of optimality.

ABSTRACT: CO₂, temperature, water availability, and light intensity were all potential selective pressures that determined the competitive advantage and expansion of the C₄ photosynthetic carbon-concentrating mechanism over the last ∼30 My. To tease apart how selective pressures varied along the ecological trajectory of C₄ expansion and dominance, we coupled hydraulics to photosynthesis models while optimizing photosynthesis over stomatal resistance and leaf/fine-root allocation. We further examined the importance of nitrogen reallocation from the dark to the light reactions. We show here that the primary selective pressures favoring C₄ dominance changed through the course of C₄ evolution. The higher stomatal resistance and leaf-to-root ratios e

SUBMITTER: Zhou H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6255158 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature