Effect Of High Co Concentration Upon Photosynthesis In Tropical Species

The large amount of information on the effects of an experimental increase in [CO2] on the physiology of plants in temperate zones is in contrast with the scant information available on tropical plants. In view, of this, the photosynthetic responses to elevated [CO2] of plants growing in Venezuela were studied. In order to elucidate the effect of elevated [CO2] on the photosynthesis and water use of species that are normally subjected to water deficit, plants of four xerophytic species were grown under elevated [CO2]. Photosynthesis increased approximately 3.5 times and elevated [CO2] delayed the decrease of photosynthetic rate under drought. Since in many studies the initial promotion of photosynthetic rate caused by elevated [CO2] has been observed to disappear in tune clue to limitations imposed by the sinks, we studied the effect of elevated [CO2] on the photosynthesis of cassava plants grown without soil limitations. Photosynthetic rate did not decrease at any time during the growth cycle of the crop. The occurrence of a large sink (the root) together with a sufficiently large volume of substrate permitted the maintenance of a higher photosynthetic rate due to elevated [CO2]. The effect of very high [CO2] on photosynthesis was evaluated in wild plants growing near natural sources; such high [CO2] did not inhibit the photosynthetic rate and promoted it swell above that of controls.