Eddy-covariance carbon dioxide flux measurement is an established method to estimate primary productivity at the forest stand level (typically 10 ha). To validate eddy-covariance estimates, researchers rely on extensive time-series analysis and an assessment of flux contributions made by various ecosystem components at spatial scales much finer than the eddy-covariance footprint. Scaling these ...

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is a perennial tree cultivated for its foliage to rear the domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori L. Mulberry has improved through conventional breeding in general aims to improve the quantity and quality of leaf yield, which have direct bearing on silk productivity. Leaf senescence is one of the major constraints, which restricts the quantity of quality leaf availability for ...

Forest growth models form one of several important prerequisites for sustainable management. The complexity of tropical moist forest means that there is often little objective information to classify sites and species for growth modelling and yield prediction. Classification based on observable morphological characteristics may be a useful surrogate for, or supplement to, other alternatives. Th...

Elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) often enhances plant photosynthesis, growth, and productivity. However, under nutrient-limited conditions the beneficial effects of high CO2 are often diminished. To evaluate the combined effects of potassium (K) deficiency and eCO2 on soybean photosynthesis, growth, biomass partitioning, and yields, plants were grown under controlled environment conditions with a...

Leaf senescence, a type of programmed cell death (PCD) characterized by chlorophyll degradation, is important to plant growth and crop productivity. It emerges that autophagy is involved in chloroplast degradation during leaf senescence. However, the molecular mechanism(s) involved in the process is not well understood. In this study, the genetic and physiological characteristics of the rice rl...

Relationships between leaf traits and carbon assimilation rates are commonly used to predict primary productivity at scales from the leaf to the globe. We addressed how the shape and magnitude of these relationships vary across temporal, spatial and taxonomic scales to improve estimates of carbon dynamics. Photosynthetic CO2 and light response curves, leaf nitrogen (N), chlorophyll (Chl) concen...

Experimental evidence indicates that the stomatal conductance and nitrogen concentration ([N]) of foliage decline under CO2 enrichment, and that the percentage growth response to elevated CO2 is amplified under water limitation, but reduced under nitrogen limitation. We advance simple explanations for these responses based on an optimisation hypothesis applied to a simple model of the annual ca...

We conducted experiments to evaluate the effects of soluble components in senescent leaf material on the growth and development of the eastern tree hole mosquito, Aedes triseriatus (Say). Oak leaves that were either leached for three days to remove the labile nutrient fraction, or were not leached, served as basal nutrient inputs in each experiment.Mosquito performance in microcosms containing ...

Accurate measurements of leaf morphology must be taken to develop models of ecosystem productivity and climate change projections. Once leaves are removed from a plant they begin to lose water and degrade. If specimens cannot be measured immediately after harvest, it is important to store the leaves in a manner that reduces morphological changes. If preserved specimens are used, estimates that ...

Drought stress is an important environmental factor limiting plant productivity. In this study, we screened drought-resistant transgenic plants from 65 promoter-pyrabactin resistance 1-like (PYL) abscisic acid (ABA) receptor gene combinations and discovered that pRD29A::PYL9 transgenic lines showed dramatically increased drought resistance and drought-induced leaf senescence in both Arabidopsis...