See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/47187710

Plant growth and climate change

Article  in  Annals of Botany · January 2008

DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcm188 · Source: PubMed Central

CITATIONS READS

9 3,597

1 author:

David W. Lawlor
Formerly Rothamsted Research
163 PUBLICATIONS   11,961 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Understanding how plant metabolism is regulated under water deficits. View project

All content following this page was uploaded by David W. Lawlor on 20 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Plant Growth and Climate Change
Edited by

JAMES I.L. MORISON

Department of Biological Sciences
University of Essex
Colchester, UK

and

MICHAEL D. MORECROFT
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Maclean Building
Wallingford, UK

0
Blackwell
Publishing
Contents

List of Contributors
Preface xii

1 Recent and future climate change and their implications

for plant growth 1
DAVID VINER, JAMES I.L. MORISON and CRAIG WALLACE

1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The climate system 2
1.3 Mechanisms of anthropogenic climate change 3
1.4 Recent climate changes 5
1.5 Future changes in anthropogenic forcing of climate 8
1.5.1 Future global climate scenarios 8
1.5.2 Future regional climate scenarios 10
1.6 Concluding comments 12
References 13

2 Plant responses to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide 17

LEWIS H. ZISKA and JAMES A. BUNCE

2.1 Introduction 17
2.1.1 Overview of plant biology 17
2.1.2 A word about methodology 19
2.2 Gene expression and carbon dioxide 19
2.3 Cellular processes: photosynthetic carbon reduction (PCR) and
carbon dioxide 20
2.3.1 C3 photosynthesis 20
2.3.2 C4 photosynthesis 20
2.3.3 Crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthesis 21
2.3.4 Photosynthetic acclimation to rising CO 2 21
2.4 Cellular processes: photosynthetic carbon oxidation (PCO) and
carbon dioxide 22
2.5 Single leaf response to CO2 22
2.5.1 Leaf carbon dynamics 22
2.5.2 Inhibition of dark respiration 23
2.5.3 Leaf chemistry 23
2.5.4 Stomata' response and CO 2 24
2.6 Whole plant responses to rising CO2 25
2.6.1 Plant development 25
vi CONTENTS

2.6.2 Carbon dynamics 26

2.6.3 Stomatal regulation and water use 28
2.7 Plant-to-plant interactions 29
2.7.1 Plant competition: managed systems 29
2.7.2 Plant competition: unmanaged systems 31
2.7.3 How does CO2 alter plant-to-plant interactions? 31
2.8 Plant communities and ecosystem responses to CO2 32
2.8.1 Managed plant systems 32
2.8.2 Water use in managed systems 32
2.8.3 Unmanaged plant systems 33
2.8.4 Water use in unmanaged plant systems 33
2.8.5 Other trophic levels 34
2.9 Global and evolutionary scales 35
2.9.1 Rising CO2 as a selection factor 35
2.9.2 Global impacts 35
2.10 Uncertainties and limitations 36
References 38

3 Significance of temperature in plant life 48

CHRISTIAN KÖRNER

3.1 Two paradoxes 48

3.1.1 Paradox 1 48
3.1.2 Paradox 2 48
3.2 Baseline responses of plant metabolism to temperature 49
3.2.1 Photosynthesis 50
3.2.2 Dark respiration 51
3.3 Thermal acclimation of metabolism 52
3.4 Growth response to temperature 55
3.5 Temperature extremes and temperature thresholds 58
3.6 The temperatures experienced by plants 60
3.7 Temperature and plant development 61
3.8 The challenge of testing plant responses to temperature 65
References 66

4 Temperature and plant development: phenology and seasonality 70

ANNETTE MENZEL and TIM SPARKS

4.1 The origins of phenology 70

4.2 Recent changes in phenology 74
4.3 Attribution of temporal changes 80
4.3.1 Detection of phenological change 80
4.3.2 Attribution of year-to-year changes in phenology to temperature and
other factors 83
4.3.3 Confounding factors 87
4.4 Evidence from continuous phenological measures 88
4.5 Possible consequences 92
References 93
 CONTENTS Vii

5 Responses of plant growth and functioning to changes in water

supply in a changing climate 96
WILLIAM J. DAVIES

5.1 Introduction: a changing climate and its effects an plant growth and
functioning 96
5.2 Growth of plants in drying soil 97
5.2.1 Hydraulic regulation of growth 97
5.3 Water relations of plants in drying soil 100
5.3.1 Water movement into and through the plant 100
5.3.2 Control of gas exchange by stomata under drought 102
5.4 Water relation targets for plant improvement in water scarce
environments 104
5.5 Control of stomata, water use and growth of plants in drying soil:
hydraulic and chemical signalling 106
5.5.1 Interactions between different environmental factors 106
5.5.2 Measuring the water availability in the soil: long-distance chemical
signalling 108
5.5.3 The integrated response to the environment 110
5.6 Conclusions: a strategy for plant improvement and management to exploit
the plant's drought response capacity 111
References 114

6 Water availability and productivity 118

JOÄO S. PEREIRA, MARIA-MANUELA CHAVES,
MARIA-CONCEIÄ0 CALDEIRA and ALEXANDRE
V. CORREIA

6.1 Introduction 118

6.2 Water deficits and primary productivity 119
6.2.1 Net primary productivity 119
6.2.2 Water-use efficiency 121
6.3 Variability in water resources and plant productivity 123
6.3.1 Temporal variability in water resources 123
6.3.2 Variability in space 125
6.3.3 In situ water redistribution — hydraulic redistribution 126
6.4 Plant communities facing drought 127
6.4.1 Species interactions with limiting water resources 127
6.4.2 Vegetation change and drought: is there an arid zone
`treeline'? 130
6.5 Droughts and wildfires 131
6.6 Agricultural and forestry perspectives 133
6.6.1 Agriculture 133
6.6.2 Forestry 136
References 138
viii CONTENTS

7 Effects of temperature and precipitation changes an plant

communities 146
M.D. MORECROFT and J.S. PATERSON

7.1 Introduction 146

7.2 Methodology 148
7.3 Mechanisms of change in plant communities 150
7.3.1 Direct effects of climate 150
7.3.2 Interspecific differences in growth responses to climate 152
7.3.3 Competition and facilitation 153
7.3.4 Changing water availability and interactions between
climate variables 154
7.3.5 Interactions between climate and nutrient cycling 155
7.3.6 Role of extreme events 156
7.3.7 Dispersal constraints 158
7.3.8 Interactions with animals 159
7.4 Is community change already happening? 159
Acknowledgements 161
References 161
8 Issues in modelling plant ecosystem responses to elevated CO2:
interactions with soil nitrogen 165
YING-PING WANG, ROSS MCMURTRIE, BELINDA MEDLYN and
DAVID PEPPER

8.1 Introduction 165

8.1.1 Modelling challenges 165
8.1.2 Chapter aims 166
8.2 Representing nitrogen cycling in ecosystem models 167
8.2.1 Overview of ecosystem models 167
8.2.2 Modelling nitrogen cycling 168
8.2.3 Major uncertainties 169
8.3 How uncertain assumptions affect model predictions 170
8.3.1 Scenario 1 (base case): increased litter quantity and decreased
litter quality 171
8.3.2 Scenario 2: Scenario 1 + higher litter N/C ratio 174
8.3.3 Scenario 3: Scenario 1 + increased root allocation 175
8.3.4 Scenario 4: Scenario 1 increased N input 175
8.3.5 Scenario 5: Scenario 1 decreased N/C ratio of new active SOM 175
8.3.6 Scenario 6: Scenario 5 + decreased N/C ratio of new slow SOM 176
8.3.7 Scenario 7: Scenario 2 + 3 + 4 + 6 + decreased slope of relation
between maximum leaf potential photosynthetic electron transport
rate and leaf N/C ratio 176
8.4 Model—data fusion techniques 177
8.5 Discussion 182
Acknowledgements 183
References 183
 CONTENTS ix

9 Predicting the effect of climate change on global plant productivity

and the carbon cycle 187
JOHN GRACE and RUI ZHANG

9.1 Introduction 187

9.2 Definitions and conceptual framework 188
9.3 Empirical basis of our knowledge of carbon fluxes 190
9.3.1 NPP 190
9.3.2 NEP and NEE 191
9.3.3 GPP and NPP by remote sensing 193
9.3.4 Use of models to predict changes in plant growth and carbon fluxes
at the large scale 194
9.4 Dependencies of fluxes on CO2 ,1ight and nitrogen supply 195
9.4.1 Photosynthesis 195
9.4.2 Autotrophic respiration 197
9.4.3 Heterotrophic respiration 198
9.4.4 Ecosystem models 198
9.5 Conclusions 202
Acknowledgements 203
References 203

Index 209

The colour plate section appears after page 50

View publication stats