Evergreens favored by higher responsiveness to increased CO2
7 páginas, 2 figuras. ; Physical CO2 diffusion from sub-stomatal cavities to the chloroplasts where photosynthesis takes place is an important limitation of photosynthesis largely neglected in research related to global climate change. This limitation is particularly important in leaves with robust structures such as evergreen sclerophylls. In these leaves, photosynthesis is less sensitive to changes in stomatal openness, which is considered to be the primary limitation of photosynthesis. In this review we state that, because of large limitations in internal diffusion in C3 plants, photosynthesis and the intrinsic efficiency of the use of plant water responds more strongly to elevated levels of CO2 in leaves with more robust structures. This provides an additional explanation for the current apparent expansion of evergreen sclerophylls in many Earth ecosystems, and adds a new perspective to research of the biological effects of increasing atmospheric CO2. ; This study was supported by the Estonian Ministry of Science and Education (grant number SF1090065s07), a collaborative project between the Estonian Academy of Sciences and the Spanish CSIC, the Spanish Government (CGL2006-04025/BOS, CGL2010-17172/BOS and Consolider-Ingenio Montes CSD2008-00040), the CSIC grant PIF08- 006-3 and the Catalan Government grant SGR 2009-458. Research by JF was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Research (Project BFU2008-1072-E/BFI). ; Peer reviewed