| Keywords | Plants, CO2, Atmosphere, Stomatal conductance, Plant physiology, Evolution, Ecosystems, Climate change |
| The world’s forests influence climate through physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect planetary energetics, the hydrologic cycle and atmospheric composition, and they are now under tremendous pressure from global climate change. Anthropogenic climate change can be amplified or damped by these complex and nonlinear forest–atmosphere interactions, like when increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and tropospheric ozone (O3) affect tree physiology and structure, and hence forest feedbacks on climate. The impact of atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3 on trees are a major concern for large areas of global forests. Both greenhouse gases are known to influence physiological functions in plants by affecting the stomatal conductance (gs). An increase in atmospheric CO2 is expected to reduce stomatal conductance, possibly affecting forest carbon and water balance (evapotranspiration). Furthermore, according to several models, rising atmospheric CO2 may alleviate the toxicological impacts of concurrently rising tropospheric O3 during the present century if higher CO2 is accompanied by lower stomatal conductance (gs).
Several studies involving CO2 and O3 gases and stomatal conductance have already been made. However, once stomatal conductance (gs) is not only regulated by these gases, other parameters like precipitation and air temperature
Understanding the stomata response to carbon dioxide (CO2): A physiological and evolutionary approach.
should be taken in account in future experiments. One of the objectives of my project is to measure stomatal behaviour of Spruce and Eucalyptus trees grown at different CO2 concentrations and temperature. Furthermore, for a broader range of species, I want to look at the evolutionary and environmental basis of the stomatal CO2 response and its possible adaptation and to acclimation of the stomatal response to elevated concentrations. |