The temperature optima for tree seedling photosynthesis and growth depend on water inputs.

Understanding how tree growth is affected by rising temperature is a key to predicting the fate of forests in future warmer climates. Increasing temperature has direct effects on plant physiology, but there are also indirect effects of increased water limitation because evaporative demand increases with temperature in many systems. In this study, we experimentally resolved the direct and indirect effects of temperature on the response of growth and photosynthesis of the widely distributed species Eucalyptus tereticornis. We grew E. tereticornis in an array of six growth temperatures from 18 to 35.5°C, spanning the climatic distribution of the species, with two watering treatments: (a) water inputs increasing with temperature to match plant demand at all temperatures (Wincr ), isolating the direct effect of temperature; and (b) water inputs constant for all temperatures, matching demand for coolest grown plants (Wconst ), such that water limitation increased with growth temperature. We found that constant water inputs resulted in a reduction of temperature optima for both photosynthesis and growth by ~3°C compared to increasing water inputs. Water limitation particularly reduced the total amount of leaf area displayed at Topt and intermediate growth temperatures. The reduction in photosynthesis could be attributed to lower leaf water potential and consequent stomatal closure. The reduction in growth was a result of decreased photosynthesis, reduced total leaf area display and a reduction in specific leaf area. Water availability had no effect on the response of stem and root respiration to warming, but we observed lower leaf respiration rates under constant water inputs compared to increasing water inputs at higher growth temperatures. Overall, this study demonstrates that the indirect effect of increasing water limitation strongly modifies the potential response of tree growth to rising global temperatures.

No evidence for triose phosphate limitation of light-saturated leaf photosynthesis under current atmospheric CO2 concentration.

The triose phosphate utilization (TPU) rate has been identified as one of the processes that can limit terrestrial plant photosynthesis. However, we lack a robust quantitative assessment of TPU limitation of photosynthesis at the global scale. As a result, TPU, and its potential limitation of photosynthesis, is poorly represented in terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). In this study, we utilized a global data set of photosynthetic CO2 response curves representing 141 species from tropical rainforests to Arctic tundra. We quantified TPU by fitting the standard biochemical model of C3 photosynthesis to measured photosynthetic CO2 response curves and characterized its instantaneous temperature response. Our results demonstrate that TPU does not limit leaf photosynthesis at the current ambient atmospheric CO2 concentration. Furthermore, our results showed that the light-saturated photosynthetic rates of plants growing in cold environments are not more often limited by TPU than those of plants growing in warmer environments. In addition, our study showed that the instantaneous temperature response of TPU is distinct from temperature response of the maximum rate of Rubisco carboxylation. The new formulations of the temperature response of TPU derived in this study may prove useful in quantifying the biochemical limits to terrestrial plant photosynthesis and improve the representation of plant photosynthesis in TBMs.

Acclimation and adaptation components of the temperature dependence of plant photosynthesis at the global scale.

The temperature response of photosynthesis is one of the key factors determining predicted responses to warming in global vegetation models (GVMs). The response may vary geographically, owing to genetic adaptation to climate, and temporally, as a result of acclimation to changes in ambient temperature. Our goal was to develop a robust quantitative global model representing acclimation and adaptation of photosynthetic temperature responses. We quantified and modelled key mechanisms responsible for photosynthetic temperature acclimation and adaptation using a global dataset of photosynthetic CO2 response curves, including data from 141 C3 species from tropical rainforest to Arctic tundra. We separated temperature acclimation and adaptation processes by considering seasonal and common-garden datasets, respectively. The observed global variation in the temperature optimum of photosynthesis was primarily explained by biochemical limitations to photosynthesis, rather than stomatal conductance or respiration. We found acclimation to growth temperature to be a stronger driver of this variation than adaptation to temperature at climate of origin. We developed a summary model to represent photosynthetic temperature responses and showed that it predicted the observed global variation in optimal temperatures with high accuracy. This novel algorithm should enable improved prediction of the function of global ecosystems in a warming climate.