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Evidence that Plants from High Altitudes Retain their Greater Photosyntheti Efficiency Under Elevated CO 2

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1994

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Abstract

Herbaceous plant species native to low and high altitudes in the Alps evolved under CO 2 partial pressures (P a ) that differ as much as pre-industrial P a differs from present day P a at low altitude (e.g. 21% for a 2000-m difference in altitude). In a previous study we showed that the efficiency of CO 2 uptake (ECU) in typical high-altitude species is generally greater than in low-altitude species. Here we investigate whether this difference prevails under longer-term exposure to altered P a . Alpine and lowland species (mainly Ranunculus glacialis/R. acris and Geum reptans/G. rivale) were grown under various CO 2 regimes in full daylight growth chambers at their respective natural growth temperature and photoperiod (...)