Fast Assimilation-Temperature Response: a FAsTeR method for measuring the temperature dependence of leaf-level photosynthesis

Estimating CO2 response in a mixed broadleaf forest using the dynamic assimilation technique

BACKGROUND

Estimating the CO2 response of forest trees is of great significance in plant photosynthesis research. CO2 response measurement is traditionally employed under steady state conditions. With the development of open-path gas exchange systems, the Dynamic Assimilation Technique (DAT), allows measurement under non-steady state conditions. This greatly improves the efficiency and data density of CO2 response measurement. This study aims to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of different models in fitting DAT data, addressing the current gap in verification of model performance.

RESULTS

This research was conducted for three common broadleaf tree species (Ulmus macrocarpa, Fraxinus mandshurica, and Tilia amurensis) in North Eastern China. Among the three species, Fraxinus mandshurica is the most adapted to high CO2 concentration conditions. Four models were compared, the rectangular hyperbola (RH) model, the Michaelis-Menten (MM) model, the modified rectangular hyperbola (MRH) model and a non-rectangular hyperbola (NRH) model.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the model parsimony and parameter accuracy, the NRH model emerged as the best choice (R2 = 0.9966, RMSE = 0.1862, AIC=-199.86). This study provides a reference for the further application of DAT in the field of photosynthesis.

Acclimation Unifies the Scaling of Carbon Assimilation Across Climate Gradients and Levels of Organisation

The temperature dependence of carbon assimilation-from leaf photosynthesis to ecosystem productivity-is hypothesised to be driven by the kinetics of Rubisco-catalysed carboxylation and electron transport. However, photosynthetic physiology acclimates to changes in temperature, which may decouple temperature dependencies at higher levels of organisation from the acute temperature sensitivity of photosynthesis. Here, we integrate relative growth rate theory, metabolic theory and biochemical photosynthesis theory to develop a carbon budget model of plant growth that accounts for photosynthetic acclimation to temperature. We test its predictions using a novel experimental approach enabling concurrent measurement of the temperature sensitivity of acute photosynthesis, acclimated photosynthesis and growth rate. We demonstrate for the first time that photosynthetic acclimation mediates how carbon assimilation kinetics 'scale up' from leaf photosynthesis to whole-plant growth. We also find that existing models of photosynthetic acclimation are unable to predict features of growth rate responses to temperature in our system.

Hotter is not (always) better: Embracing unimodal scaling of biological rates with temperature

Rate-temperature scaling relationships have fascinated biologists for nearly two centuries and are increasingly important in our era of global climate change. These relationships are hypothesized to originate from the temperature-dependent kinetics of rate-limiting biochemical reactions of metabolism. Several prominent theories have formalized this hypothesis using the Arrhenius model, which characterizes a monotonic temperature dependence using an activation energy E. However, the ubiquitous unimodal nature of biological temperature responses presents important theoretical, methodological, and conceptual challenges that restrict the promise for insight, prediction, and progress. Here we review the development of key hypotheses and methods for the temperature-scaling of biological rates. Using simulations, we examine the constraints of monotonic models, illustrating their sensitivity to data nuances such as temperature range and noise, and their tendency to yield variable and underestimated E, with critical consequences for climate change predictions. We also evaluate the behaviour of two prominent unimodal models when applied to incomplete and noisy datasets. We conclude with recommendations for resolving these challenges in future research, and advocate for a shift to unimodal models that better characterize the full range of biological temperature responses.