Origin, fate and significance of CO<sub>2</sub> in tree stems

Teskey, Robert O.; Saveyn, An; Steppe, Kathy; McGuire, Mary Anne

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02286.x

Cited by 316 publications

(412 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(144 reference statements)

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“…By assimilating respired CO 2 , which is present inside trees at high concentrations (ranging from <1% to over 26% (Teskey et al, 2008)), these photosynthetically active tissues photo-reduce CO 2 similarly as described for green leaves (Pfanz et al, 2002). This re-assimilated CO 2 would otherwise be "lost" to the surrounding atmosphere, which explains why woody tissue photosynthesis is often described within the context of a tree carbon recycling mechanism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Understanding Plant Responses to Drought: How Important Is Woody Tissue Photosynthesis?

Bloemen¹,

Overlaet-Michiels²,

Steppe³

2013

Acta Hortic.

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Within trees, it is known that a part of the respired CO 2 is assimilated in chlorophyll-containing stem and branch tissues. However the role of this woody tissue photosynthesis in tree functioning remains unclear, in particular under drought stress conditions. In this study, stem diameter and leaf photosynthesis were measured for one-year-old cutting-derived plants of Populus nigra "Monviso" under both well-watered and drought stress conditions. Half of the plants were subjected to a stem and branch light-exclusion treatment to prevent woody tissue photosynthesis to occur, while the other trees served as controls. Drought stress was induced in both treatments by limiting the water supply. We found that under wellwatered conditions, light-exclusion resulted in reduced stem radial daily growth rate (DG) relative to DG observed for control trees. In response to drought, stem shrinkage of the light-excluded trees was more pronounced as compared to the control trees. Maximum leaf net photosynthesis (A max ) decreased more rapidly in light-excluded trees compared to the controls during drought stress. Our results are the first to report on the potentially significant role of woody tissue photosynthesis in tree drought stress tolerance. Moreover, our study implies that the impact of assimilation of respired CO 2 on tree functioning extends beyond local stem processes and indicates that woody tissue photosynthesis is potentially a key factor in understanding plant responses to drought stress.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Understanding Plant Responses to Drought: How Important Is Woody Tissue Photosynthesis?

Bloemen¹,

Overlaet-Michiels²,

Steppe³

2013

Acta Hortic.

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“…A further complication may arise if large portions of respired CO 2 are not released to the atmosphere but internally transported between organs as it has been suggested for xylem CO 2 (see Teskey et al, 2008). If a large portion of root respired CO 2 is transported via the xylem water inside the plant and subsequently re-fixed in stem and twigs and/or emitted via the stem to the atmosphere, it would add a further variable source coupled to diel changes in xylem flow delivering depleted δ 13 C res compared to atmospheric δ 13 CO 2 .…”

Section: M32mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diel variations in the carbon isotope composition of respired CO<sub>2</sub> and associated carbon sources: a review of dynamics and mechanisms

Werner

Geßler

2011

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Recent advances have improved our methodological approaches and theoretical understanding of postphotosynthetic carbon isotope fractionation processes. Nevertheless we still lack a clear picture of the origin of shortterm variability in δ 13 C of respired CO 2 (δ 13 C res ) and organic carbon fractions on a diel basis. Closing this knowledge gap is essential for the application of stable isotope approaches for partitioning ecosystem respiration, tracing carbon flow through plants and ecosystems and disentangling key physiological processes in carbon metabolism of plants. In this review we examine the short-term dynamics in δ 13 C res and putative substrate pools at the plant, soil and ecosystem scales and discuss mechanisms, which might drive diel δ 13 C res dynamics at each scale. Maximum reported variation in diel δ 13 C res is 4.0, 5.4 and 14.8 ‰ in trunks, roots and leaves of different species and 12.5 and 8.1 ‰ at the soil and ecosystem scale in different biomes. Temporal variation in post-photosynthetic isotope fractionation related to changes in carbon allocation to different metabolic pathways is the most plausible mechanistic explanation for observed diel dynamics in δ 13 C res . In addition, mixing of component fluxes with different temporal dynamics and isotopic compositions add to the δ 13 C res variation on the soil and ecosystem level. Understanding short-term variations in δ 13 C res is particularly important for ecosystem studies, since δ 13 C res contains information on the fate of respiratory substrates, and may, therefore, provide a non-intrusive way to identify changes in carbon allocation patterns.

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“…Consequently, stem internal CO 2 concentrations can constantly fluctuate, which in turn can affect the amount of CO 2 diffusing out of the bark (e.g. McGuire and Teskey 2004;Teskey et al 2008;Saveyn et al 2008a, b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diverging temperature response of tree stem CO2 release under dry and wet season conditions in a tropical montane moist forest

Zach

Horna

Leuschner

2009

Trees

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It is commonly presumed that plant respiratory CO 2 release increases with increasing temperature. However, we report on very contrasting stem CO 2 release (R S )-temperature relationships of trees in a species-rich tropical montane forest of southern Ecuador under dry and wet season conditions. Rates of R S were low and completely uncoupled from the dial temperature regime during the humid season. In contrast, during the dry season, R S was generally higher and temperature sensitivity of R S differed greatly in degree and even in the direction of response, indicating that temperature might not be the only determinant of R S . In order to explain the heterogeneity of R S , we related R S to vapour pressure deficit, wind speed and solar radiation as important abiotic drivers influencing transpiration and photosynthesis. Stepwise multiple regression analyses with these meteorological predictors either were biased by high collinearity of the independent variables or could not enhance the ability to explain the variability of R S . We assume maintenance respiration to dominate under humid conditions unfavourable for energy acquisition of the tree, thus explaining the pronounced uncoupling of R S from atmospheric parameters. In contrast, the drier and hotter climate of the dry season seems to favour R S via enhanced assimilatory substrate delivery and stem respiratory activity as well as elevated xylem sap CO 2 imports with increased transpiration. In addition, tree individual differences in the temperature responses of R S may mirror diverging climatic adaptations of co-existing moist forest tree species which have their distribution centre either at higher or lower elevations.

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Origin, fate and significance of CO₂ in tree stems

Abstract: Contents Summary1I.2II.2III.4IV.6V.10VI.12VII.131313

Cited by 316 publications

References 101 publications

Understanding Plant Responses to Drought: How Important Is Woody Tissue Photosynthesis?

Understanding Plant Responses to Drought: How Important Is Woody Tissue Photosynthesis?

Diel variations in the carbon isotope composition of respired CO<sub>2</sub> and associated carbon sources: a review of dynamics and mechanisms

Diverging temperature response of tree stem CO2 release under dry and wet season conditions in a tropical montane moist forest

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Origin, fate and significance of CO2 in tree stems

Abstract: Contents Summary1I.2II.2III.4IV.6V.10VI.12VII.131313

Cited by 316 publications

References 101 publications

Understanding Plant Responses to Drought: How Important Is Woody Tissue Photosynthesis?

Understanding Plant Responses to Drought: How Important Is Woody Tissue Photosynthesis?

Diel variations in the carbon isotope composition of respired CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and associated carbon sources: a review of dynamics and mechanisms

Diverging temperature response of tree stem CO2 release under dry and wet season conditions in a tropical montane moist forest

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Origin, fate and significance of CO₂ in tree stems

Diel variations in the carbon isotope composition of respired CO<sub>2</sub> and associated carbon sources: a review of dynamics and mechanisms