1. Evidence for widespread thermal acclimation of canopy photosynthesis
- Author
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Liu, Jiangong, Ryu, Youngryel, Luo, Xiangzhong, Dechant, Benjamin, Stocker, Benjamin D, Keenan, Trevor F, Gentine, Pierre, Li, Xing, Li, Bolun, Harrison, Sandy P, and Prentice, Iain Colin
- Subjects
Plant Biology ,Biological Sciences ,Clean Water and Sanitation ,Photosynthesis ,Acclimatization ,Plant Leaves ,Temperature ,Ecosystem ,Crop and Pasture Production ,Ecology ,Plant biology - Abstract
Plants acclimate to temperature by adjusting their photosynthetic capacity over weeks to months. However, most evidence for photosynthetic acclimation derives from leaf-scale experiments. Here we address the scarcity of evidence for canopy-scale photosynthetic acclimation by examining the correlation between maximum photosynthetic rates (Amax,2,000) and growth temperature ( Tair¯ ) across a range of concurrent temperatures and canopy foliage quantity, using data from >200 eddy covariance sites. We detect widespread thermal acclimation of canopy-scale photosynthesis, demonstrated by enhanced Amax,2,000 under higher Tair¯ , across flux sites with adequate water availability. A 14-day period is identified as the most relevant timescale for acclimation across all sites, with a range of 12-25 days for different plant functional types. The mean apparent thermal acclimation rate across all ecosystems is 0.41 (-0.38-1.04 for 5th-95th percentile range) µmol m-2 s-1 °C-1, with croplands showing the largest acclimation rates and grasslands the lowest. Incorporating an optimality-based prediction of leaf photosynthetic capacities into a biochemical photosynthesis model is shown to improve the representation of thermal acclimation. Our results underscore the critical need for enhanced understanding and modelling of canopy-scale photosynthetic capacity to accurately predict plant responses to warmer growing seasons.
- Published
- 2024