Scaling of leaf area with biomass in trees reconsidered: constant metabolically active sapwood volume per unit leaf area with height growth

Hypoallometric (slope<1) scaling between metabolic rate and body mass is often regarded as near-universal across organisms. However, there are compelling reasons to question hypoallometric scaling in woody plants, where metabolic rate=leaf area. This leaf area must provide carbon to the metabolically active sapwood volume (VMASW). Within populations of a species, variants in which VMASW increases per unit leaf area with height growth (e.g. ⅔ or ¾ scaling) would have proportionally less carbon for growth and reproduction as they grow taller. Therefore, selection should favor individuals in which, as they grow taller, leaf area scales isometrically with shoot VMASW (slope=1). Using tetrazolium staining, we measured total VMASW and total leaf area (LAtot) across 22 individuals of Ricinus communis and confirmed that leaf area scales isometrically with VMASW, and that VMASW is much smaller than total sapwood volume. With the potential of the LAtot-VMASW relationship to shape factors as diverse as the crown area-stem diameter relationship, conduit diameter scaling, reproductive output, and drought-induced mortality, our work suggests that the notion that sapwood increases per unit leaf area with height growth requires revision.

A cost-benefit analysis of leaf carbon economy with consideration of seasonal changes in leaf traits for sympatric deciduous and evergreen congeners: implications for their coexistence

Deciduous and evergreen species, which have evolved repeatedly across different clades, can coexist in a given environment despite substantial differences in their leaf traits. It remains unclear how these two groups differ in the development of leaf traits over their lifespans or how their carbon economy - the balance between lifetime carbon gain and leaf construction cost - is determined. We determined the photosynthetic rate (A_area ), leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf mechanical strength and leaf water potentials and estimated the lifetime carbon gain and leaf construction cost of five closely related pairs of evergreen and deciduous species co-occurring in a temperate forest. A_area of evergreen species was lower during their first spring, similar in summer and higher than the autumn until the following spring than their deciduous counterparts. Leaf mechanical strength, osmotic pressures and LMA increased continuously towards winter in evergreen species while remaining largely constant in deciduous species. The ratio of lifetime carbon gain to leaf construction cost was similar between the two groups. The additional cost associated with enduring winter is paid back by a longer revenue of photosynthesis in evergreen species, allowing evergreen and deciduous leaf habits to coexist in the seasonal environment.

Systematic Engineering for Improved Carbon Economy in the Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoates and Isoprenoids

With the rapid development of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, a broad range of biochemicals can be biosynthesized, which include polyhydroxyalkanoates and isoprenoids. However, some of the bio-approaches in chemical synthesis have just started to be applied outside of laboratory settings, and many require considerable efforts to achieve economies of scale. One of the often-seen barriers is the low yield and productivity, which leads to higher unit cost and unit capital investment for the bioconversion process. In general, higher carbon economy (less carbon wastes during conversion process from biomass to objective bio-based chemicals) will result in higher bioconversion yield, which results in less waste being generated during the process. To achieve this goal, diversified strategies have been applied; matured strategies include pathway engineering to block competitive pathways, enzyme engineering to enhance the activities of enzymes, and process optimization to improve biomass/carbon yield. In this review, we analyze the impact of carbon sources from different types of biomass on the yield of bio-based chemicals (especially for polyhydroxyalkanoates and isoprenoids). Moreover, we summarize the traditional strategies for improving carbon economy during the bioconversion process and introduce the updated techniques in building up non-natural carbon pathways, which demonstrate higher carbon economies than their natural counterparts.

Theoretical evidence for the functional benefit of root cortical aerenchyma in soils with low phosphorus availability

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The formation of root cortical aerenchyma (RCA) reduces root respiration and nutrient content by converting living tissue to air volume. It was hypothesized that RCA increases soil resource acquisition by reducing the metabolic and phosphorus cost of soil exploration.

METHODS

To test the quantitative logic of the hypothesis, SimRoot, a functional-structural plant model with emphasis on root architecture and nutrient acquisition, was employed. Sensitivity analyses for the effects of RCA on the initial 40 d of growth of maize (Zea mays) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) were conducted in soils with varying degrees of phosphorus availability. With reference to future climates, the benefit of having RCA in high CO(2) environments was simulated.

KEY RESULTS

The model shows that RCA may increase the growth of plants faced with suboptimal phosphorus availability up to 70 % for maize and 14 % for bean after 40 d of growth. Maximum increases were obtained at low phosphorus availability (3 µm). Remobilization of phosphorus from dying cells had a larger effect on plant growth than reduced root respiration. The benefit of both these functions was additive and increased over time. Larger benefits may be expected for mature plants. Sensitivity analysis for light-use efficiency showed that the benefit of having RCA is relatively stable, suggesting that elevated CO(2) in future climates will not significantly effect the benefits of having RCA.

CONCLUSIONS

The results support the hypothesis that RCA is an adaptive trait for phosphorus acquisition by remobilizing phosphorus from the root cortex and reducing the metabolic costs of soil exploration. The benefit of having RCA in low-phosphorus soils is larger for maize than for bean, as maize is more sensitive to low phosphorus availability while it has a more 'expensive' root system. Genetic variation in RCA may be useful for breeding phosphorus-efficient crop cultivars, which is important for improving global food security.

Effects of short-term ozone exposure on the carbon economy of mature and juvenile Douglas firs [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco]

Effects of short-term ozone exposure of mature trees were compared with those of seedlings. Both 25-yr-old Douglas firs [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] and 3-yr-old Douglas fir seedlings were exposed to 0, 200 and 400 μgm^-1 ozone for about 1.5 wk and then labelled with ¹⁴ CO₂ to study the effect on net photosynthesis, translocation and partitioning of assimilates. In the seedling experiment, two identical growth cabinets with separated shoot and root compartments were used for ozone fumigation and ¹⁴ C-labelling. Seedlings were harvested and ^H C contents in the needles (subdivided into starch, ethanol-soluble and residue fractions), branches, roots, root/soil respiration and soil residue were determined, together with the total starch content of the needles. Ozone increased the retention of ¹⁴ C-photosynthates in the needles. Translocation of carbon to the branches and roots seemed to be inhibited by the highest ozone treatment. The increased ¹⁴ C-retention was mainly recovered in the residue fraction of the needles. Total starch content of the needles decreased in the highest ozone treatment. In the experiment with mature trees, terminal shoots were fumigated with ozone and labelled with ¹⁴ C using three small branch chambers. Carbon distribution was studied after harvest of the branches. Total ¹⁴ C contents in the needle fractions and the branches were determined, together with the total starch content of the needles. Ozone was found to inhibit net ¹⁴ CO₂ assimilation as well as translocation of ¹⁴ C-labelled assimilates from exposed needles to the branch. No effects of ozone were found on the partitioning of ¹⁴ C among the starch, ethanol-soluble, and residue fractions of the needles, although amounts in the ethanol-soluble fraction tended to increase after exposure to ozone. The results indicate that mature and juvenile Douglas firs respond in a similar way to short-term ozone exposure with regard to carbon translocation. If this similarity also applies to other species, then results from phytotron experiments on ozone and translocation of carbon might gain importance with respect to extrapolation to forest ecosystems.