scholarly journals Carbon use efficiency depends on growth respiration, maintenance respiration, and relative growth rate. A case study with lettuce

2003 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1441-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. VAN IERSEL
2000 ◽  
Vol 125 (6) ◽  
pp. 702-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc W. van Iersel ◽  
Lynne Seymour

Respiration is important in the overall carbon balance of plants, and can be separated into growth (Rg) and maintenance respiration (Rm). Estimation of Rg and Rm throughout plant development is difficult with traditional approaches. Here, we describe a new method to determine ontogenic changes in Rg and Rm. The CO2 exchange rate of groups of 28 `Cooler Peppermint' vinca plants [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don.] was measured at 20 min intervals for 2 weeks. These data were used to calculate daily carbon gain (DCG, a measure of growth rate) and cumulative carbon gain (CCG, a measure of plant size). Growth and maintenance respiration were estimated based on the assumption that they are functions of DCG and CCG, respectively. Results suggested a linear relationship between DCG and Rg. Initially, Rm was three times larger than Rg, but they were similar at the end of the experiment. The decrease in the fraction of total available carbohydrates that was used for Rm resulted in an increase in carbon use efficiency from 0.51 to 0.67 mol·mol-1 during the 2-week period. The glucose requirement of the plants was determined from Rg, DCG, and the carbon fraction of the plant material and estimated to be 1.39 g·g-1, while the maintenance coefficient was estimated to be 0.031 g·g-1·d-1 at the end of the experiment. These results are similar to values reported previously for other species. This suggests that the use of semicontinuous CO2 exchange measurements for estimating Rg and Rm yields reasonable results.


2004 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna S. Nemali ◽  
M.W. van Iersel

The effect of increasing daily light integral (DLI; 5.3, 9.5, 14.4, and 19.4 mol·m-2·d-1) on photosynthesis and respiration of wax begonia (Begonia semperflorens-cultorum Hort.) was examined by measuring CO2 exchange rates (CER) for a period of 25 d in a whole-plant gas exchange system. Although plant growth rate (GR, increase in dry weight per day) increased linearly with increasing DLI, plants grown at low DLI (5.3 or 9.5 mol·m-2·d-1) respired more carbohydrates than were fixed in photosynthesis during the early growth period (13 and 4 d, respectively), resulting in a negative daily carbon gain (DCG) and GR. Carbon use efficiency [CUE, the ratio of carbon incorporated into the plant to C fixed in gross photosynthesis (Pg)] of plants grown at low DLI was low, since these plants used most of the C fixed in Pg for maintenance respiration (Rm), leaving few, if any, C for growth and growth respiration (Rg). Maintenance respiration accounted for a smaller fraction of the total respiration with increasing DLI. In addition, the importance of Rm in the carbon balance of the plants decreased over time, resulting in an increase in CUE. At harvest, crop dry weight (DWCROP) increased linearly with increasing DLI, due to the increased photosynthesis and CUE at high PPF.


2013 ◽  
Vol 100 (10) ◽  
pp. 2009-2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Gremer ◽  
Sarah Kimball ◽  
Katie R. Keck ◽  
Travis E. Huxman ◽  
Amy L. Angert ◽  
...  

HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 854D-855
Author(s):  
Marc W. van Iersel*

Literature reports on the Q10 for respiration vary widely, both within and among species. Plant size and metabolic activity may be responsible for some of this variation. To test this, respiration of whole lettuce plants was measured at temperatures ranging from 6 to 31 °C during a 24-h period. Subsequently, plant growth rate (in moles of carbon per day) was determined by measuring the CO2 exchange rate of the same plants during a 24-h period. Environmental conditions during this 24-h period resembled those that the plants were exposed to in the greenhouse. The measured growth rate was then used to estimate the relative growth rate (RGR) of the plants. The respiratory Q10 ranged from 1.4 for small plants to 1.75 for large plants. The increase in Q10 with increasing plant size was highly significant, as was the decrease in Q10 with increasing RGR. However, growth rate had little or no effect on the respiratory Q10. One possible explanation for these findings is that the Q10 depends on the ratio of growth to maintenance respiration (which is directly related to RGR). The growth respiration coefficient generally is considered to be temperature-insensitive, while the maintenance respiration coefficient normally increases with increasing temperature. Based on this concept, the Q10 for the maintenance respiration coefficient can be estimated as the estimated Q10 at a RGR of zero (i.e. no growth and thus no growth respiration), which was 1.65 in this experiment. Although the concept of dividing respiration into growth and maintenance fractions remains controversial, it is useful for explaining changes in respiratory Q10 during plant development.


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