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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Acclimation of leaf dark respiration to nocturnal and diurnal warming in a semiarid temperate steppe

Yonggang Chi A B , Ming Xu A C E , Ruichang Shen A and Shiqiang Wan D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

B State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.

C Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Rutgers University, NJ 08901, USA.

D Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, College of Life Sciences, Henan University, Henan 475004, China.

E Corresponding author. Email: mingxu@igsnrr.ac.cn

Functional Plant Biology 40(11) 1159-1167 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP12369
Submitted: 9 December 2012  Accepted: 13 May 2013   Published: 19 June 2013

Abstract

A better understanding of thermal acclimation of leaf dark respiration in response to nocturnal and diurnal warming could help accurately predict the changes in carbon exchange of terrestrial ecosystems under global warming, especially under the asymmetric warming. A field manipulative experiment was established with control, nocturnal warming (1800–0600 hours), diurnal warming (0600–1800 hours), and diel warming (24 h) under naturally fluctuating conditions in a semiarid temperate steppe in northern China in April 2006. Temperature response curves of in situ leaf dark respiration for Stipa krylovii Roshev. were measured at night (Rn) and after 30 min of darkness imposed in the daytime (Rd). Leaf nonstructural carbohydrates were determined before sunrise and at sunset. Results showed that Rn could acclimate to nocturnal warming and diurnal warming, but Rd could not. The decreases in Q10 (temperature sensitivity) of Rn under nocturnal-warming and diurnal warming regimes might be attributed to greater depletion of total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC). The real-time and intertwined metabolic interactions between chloroplastic and mitochondrial metabolism in the daytime could affect the impacts of warming on metabolite pools and the distinct response of Rn and Rd to warming. Projection on climate change–carbon feedback under climate warming must account for thermal acclimation of leaf dark respiration separately by Rn and Rd.

Additional keywords: carbon, climate warming, grassland, nonstructural carbohydrates, Q10, temperature.


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