Response of leaf day respiration in C4 plants to irradiance and vapour pressure deficit

Abstract

Leaf day respiration rate (RL) plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. However, RL of C4 species has not been sufficiently studied and its response to environmental factors is largely unknown. This work studied the response of RL of three C4 species, Setaria viridis, Sorghum sudanense, and Zea mays, to alterations in the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and irradiance of the growth environment. RL was estimated using the Kok method (RL Kok) and an improved method that combined gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements (RL Yin). On average, shade treatment led to a 24% reduction in RL Yin and a 20% reduction in respiration in the dark (RDk), while a consistent VPD effect on RL was not observed. RL and RDk were positively correlated with nitrogen content per leaf area and net CO2 assimilation rate but were not correlated with the capacity of carboxylation enzymes. We found a non-significant light inhibition of respiration (1 ​± ​2%), contradicting the assumption that respiration is inhibited by light and affected by light intensity. Our findings indicate that assuming RL to be equal to RDk at the same temperature is a straightforward but reliable approach to model respiration of the examined C4 species.