B42B-05
Predicting the maximum rate of carboxylation based on the coordination hypothesis of leaf resource allocation
Thursday, 17 December 2015: 11:20
2008 (Moscone West)
Trevor F Keenan1, Iain Colin Prentice2,3, Han Wang4, Ian J Wright1, Vincent Maire5 and Dong Ning1, (1)Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, (2)Imperial College London, Grantham Institute and Division of Biology, London, United Kingdom, (3)Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom, (4)Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China, (5)University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Montreal, QC, Canada
Abstract:
Photosynthetic traits in higher plants are known to vary with changes in climate and soil properties. These observed relationships have been included in land surface models through empirical equations, but a fundamental mechanistic understanding remains lacking, making spatial and temporal extrapolation difficult at best. Recent advances in the theory of optimal resource allocation provide a path through which to test hypotheses regarding the governing controls of various plant traits. Here, we propose an optimal theoretical underpinning, based on the coordination hypothesis, for spatial and temporal variations in the maximum rate of carboxylation, Vcmax, and test the theory using observations from 1500 species at 300 sites worldwide. Results suggest that variation in Vcmax can be explained through first-principles, based on the coordinated regulation of the balance of RuBP carboxylation and regeneration.
