scholarly journals Coupled Gas-Exchange Model for C4 Leaves Comparing Stomatal Conductance Models

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1358
Author(s):  
Kyungdahm Yun ◽  
Dennis Timlin ◽  
Soo-Hyung Kim

Plant simulation models are abstractions of plant physiological processes that are useful for investigating the responses of plants to changes in the environment. Because photosynthesis and transpiration are fundamental processes that drive plant growth and water relations, a leaf gas-exchange model that couples their interdependent relationship through stomatal control is a prerequisite for explanatory plant simulation models. Here, we present a coupled gas-exchange model for C4 leaves incorporating two widely used stomatal conductance submodels: Ball–Berry and Medlyn models. The output variables of the model includes steady-state values of CO2 assimilation rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, internal CO2 concentrations, and other leaf gas-exchange attributes in response to light, temperature, CO2, humidity, leaf nitrogen, and leaf water status. We test the model behavior and sensitivity, and discuss its applications and limitations. The model was implemented in Julia programming language using a novel modeling framework. Our testing and analyses indicate that the model behavior is reasonably sensitive and reliable in a wide range of environmental conditions. The behavior of the two model variants differing in stomatal conductance submodels deviated substantially from each other in low humidity conditions. The model was capable of replicating the behavior of transgenic C4 leaves under moderate temperatures as found in the literature. The coupled model, however, underestimated stomatal conductance in very high temperatures. This is likely an inherent limitation of the coupling approaches using Ball–Berry type models in which photosynthesis and stomatal conductance are recursively linked as an input of the other.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wellington L Almeida ◽  
Rodrigo T Ávila ◽  
Junior P Pérez-Molina ◽  
Marcela L Barbosa ◽  
Dinorah M S Marçal ◽  
...  

Abstract The overall coordination between gas exchanges and plant hydraulics may be affected by soil water availability and source-to-sink relationships. Here we evaluated how branch growth and mortality, leaf gas exchange and metabolism are affected in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) trees by drought and fruiting. Field-grown plants were irrigated or not, and maintained with full or no fruit load. Under mild water deficit, irrigation per se did not significantly impact growth but markedly reduced branch mortality in fruiting trees, despite similar leaf assimilate pools and water status. Fruiting increased net photosynthetic rate in parallel with an enhanced stomatal conductance, particularly in irrigated plants. Mesophyll conductance and maximum RuBisCO carboxylation rate remained unchanged across treatments. The increased stomatal conductance in fruiting trees over nonfruiting ones was unrelated to internal CO2 concentration, foliar abscisic acid (ABA) levels or differential ABA sensitivity. However, stomatal conductance was associated with higher stomatal density, lower stomatal sensitivity to vapor pressure deficit, and higher leaf hydraulic conductance and capacitance. Increased leaf transpiration rate in fruiting trees was supported by coordinated alterations in plant hydraulics, which explained the maintenance of plant water status. Finally, by preventing branch mortality, irrigation can mitigate biennial production fluctuations and improve the sustainability of coffee plantations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo-Hyung Kim ◽  
Jig Han Jeong ◽  
Lloyd L. Nackley

Characterization of leaf physiology is an important step for understanding the ecophysiology of a crop as well as for developing a process-based crop simulation model. We determined photosynthetic and transpiration responses to photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), carbon dioxide concentrations, and temperature, and parameterized a coupled leaf gas-exchange model for hardneck garlic (Allium sativum). The parameterized model performed with high accuracy and precision in predicting photosynthetic responses [r2 = 0.95, bias = 1.7 μmol·m−2·s−1, root mean square error (RMSE) = 2.4 μmol·m−2·s−1] when tested against independent data that were not used for model calibration. The model performance for transpiration rates was less satisfactory (r2 = 0.49, bias = –0.14 mmol·m−2·s−1, RMSE = 0.94 mmol·m−2·s−1). In addition, we characterized the relationships among chlorophyll meter readings, leaf photosynthetic capacity (Amax), and leaf nitrogen content in garlic leaves. The chlorophyll meter readings were a reasonable indicator of both Amax (r2 = 0.61) and leaf nitrogen (N) status (r2 = 0.51) for garlic leaves we studied. The garlic leaf gas-exchange model developed in this study can serve as a key component in ecophysiological crop models for garlic. Similarly, the quantitative relationship identified between chlorophyll meter readings and Amax in this study can provide useful information for non-destructively assessing leaf photosynthetic capacity in garlic.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 540a-540
Author(s):  
K.J. Prevete ◽  
R.T. Fernandez

Three species of herbaceous perennials were tested on their ability to withstand and recover from drought stress periods of 2, 4, and 6 days. Eupatorium rugosum and Boltonia asteroides `Snowbank' were chosen because of their reported drought intolerance, while Rudbeckia triloba was chosen based on its reported drought tolerance. Drought stress began on 19 Sept. 1997. Plants were transplanted into the field the day following the end of each stress period. The effects of drought on transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and net photosynthetic rate were measured during the stress and throughout recovery using an infrared gas analysis system. Leaf gas exchange measurements were taken through recovery until there were no differences between the stressed plants and the control plants. Transpiration, stomatal conductance, and photosynthesis of Rudbeckia and Boltonia were not affected until 4 days after the start of stress. Transpiration of Eupatorium decreased after 3 days of stress. After rewatering, leaf gas exchange of Boltonia and Rudbeckia returned to non-stressed levels quicker than Eupatorium. Growth measurements were taken every other day during stress, and then weekly following transplanting. Measurements were taken until a killing frost that occurred on 3 Nov. There were no differences in the growth between the stressed and non-stressed plants in any of the species. Plants will be monitored throughout the winter, spring, and summer to determine the effects of drought on overwintering capability and regrowth.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 663
Author(s):  
James Bunce

Attempts to identify crop genetic material with larger growth stimulation at projected elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations are becoming more common. The probability of reductions in photosynthesis and yield caused by short-term variation in CO2 concentration within elevated CO2 treatments in the free-air CO2 enrichment plots raises the question of whether similar effects occur in glasshouse or indoor chamber experiments. These experiments were designed to test whether even the normal, modest, cyclic variation in CO2 concentration typical of indoor exposure systems have persistent impacts on photosynthesis and growth, and to explore mechanisms underlying the responses observed. Wheat, cotton, soybeans, and rice were grown from seed in indoor chambers at a mean CO2 concentration of 560 μmol mol−1, with “triangular” cyclic variation with standard deviations of either 4.5 or 18.0 μmol mol−1 measured with 0.1 s sampling periods with an open path analyzer. Photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and above ground biomass at 20 to 23 days were reduced in all four species by the larger variation in CO2 concentration. Tests of rates of stomatal opening and closing with step changes in light and CO2, and tests of responses to square-wave cycling of CO2 were also conducted on individual leaves of these and three other species, using a leaf gas exchange system. Reduced stomatal conductance due to larger amplitude cycling of CO2 during growth occurred even in soybeans and rice, which had equal rates of opening and closing in response to step changes in CO2. The gas exchange results further indicated that reduced mean stomatal conductance was not the only cause of reduced photosynthesis in variable CO2 conditions.


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