Understanding how photosynthesis responds to the environment is crucial for improving plant production and maintaining biodiversity in the context of global change. Covering all aspects of photosynthesis, from basic concepts to methodologies, from the organelle to whole ecosystem levels, this is an integrated guide to photosynthesis in an environmentally dynamic context. Focusing on the ecophysiology of photosynthesis – how photosynthesis varies in time and space, responds and adapts to environmental conditions and differs among species within an evolutionary context – the book features contributions from leaders in the field. The approach is interdisciplinary and the topics covered have applications for ecology, environmental sciences, agronomy, forestry and meteorology. It also addresses applied fields such as climate change, biomass and biofuel production and genetic engineering, making a valuable contribution to our understanding of the impacts of climate change on the primary productivity of the globe and on ecosystem stability.

An integrated guide to photosynthesis in an environmentally dynamic context, covering all aspects from basic concepts to methodologies.

Provides an essential introduction to modeling terrestrial ecosystems in Earth system models for graduate students and researchers.

Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and global climate conditions have altered photosynthesis and plant respiration across both geologic and contemporary time scales. Understanding climate change effects on plant carbon dynamics is critical for predicting plant responses to future growing conditions. Furthermore, demand for biofuel, fibre and food production is rapidly increasing with the ever-expanding global human population, and our ability to meet these demands is exacerbated by climate change. This volume integrates physiological, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives on photosynthesis and respiration responses to climate change. We explore this topic in the context of modeling plant responses to climate, including physiological mechanisms that constrain carbon assimilation and the potential for plants to acclimate to rising carbon dioxide concentration, warming temperatures and drought. Additional chapters contrast climate change responses in natural and agricultural ecosystems, where differences in climate sensitivity between different photosynthetic pathways can influence community and ecosystem processes. Evolutionary studies over past and current time scales provide further insight into evolutionary changes in photosynthetic traits, the emergence of novel plant strategies, and the potential for rapid evolutionary responses to future climate conditions. Finally, we discuss novel approaches to engineering photosynthesis and photorespiration to improve plant productivity for the future. The overall goals for this volume are to highlight recent advances in photosynthesis and respiration research, and to identify key challenges to understanding and scaling plant physiological responses to climate change. The integrated perspectives and broad scope of research make this volume an excellent resource for both students and researchers in many areas of plant science, including plant physiology, ecology, evolution, climate change, and biotechnology. For this volume, 37 experts contributed chapters that span modeling, empirical, and applied research on photosynthesis and respiration responses to climate change. Authors represent the following seven countries: Australia (6); Canada (9), England (5), Germany (2), Spain (3), and the United States (12).

Understanding how photosynthesis responds to the environment is crucial for improving plant production and maintaining biodiversity in the context of global change. Covering all aspects of photosynthesis, from basic concepts to methodologies, from the organelle to whole ecosystem levels, this is an integrated guide to photosynthesis in an environmentally dynamic context. Focusing on the ecophysiology of photosynthesis - how photosynthesis varies in time and space, responds and adapts to environmental conditions and differs among species within an evolutionary context - the book features contributions from leaders in the field. The approach is interdisciplinary and the topics covered have applications for ecology, environmental sciences, agronomy, forestry and meteorology. It also addresses applied fields such as climate change, biomass and biofuel production and genetic engineering, making a valuable contribution to our understanding of the impacts of climate change on the primary productivity of the globe and on ecosystem stability.

Climate models have evolved into Earth system models with representation of the physics, chemistry, and biology of terrestrial ecosystems. This companion book to Gordon Bonan's Ecological Climatology: Concepts and Applications, Third Edition, builds on the concepts introduced there, and provides the mathematical foundation upon which to develop and understand ecosystem models and their relevance for these Earth system models. The book bridges the disciplinary gap among land surface models developed by atmospheric scientists; biogeochemical models, dynamic global vegetation models, and ecosystem demography models developed by ecologists; and ecohydrology models developed by hydrologists. Review questions, supplemental code, and modeling projects are provided, to aid with understanding how the equations are used. The book is an invaluable guide to climate change and terrestrial ecosystem modeling for graduate students and researchers in climate change, climatology, ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, meteorology, environmental science, mathematical modeling, and environmental biophysics.

"Understanding how photosynthesis responds to the environment is crucial for improving plant production and maintaining biodiversity in the context of global change. Covering all aspects of photosynthesis, from basic concepts to methodologies, from the organelle to whole ecosystem levels, this is an integrated guide to photosynthesis in an environmentally dynamic context. Focusing on the ecophysiology of photosynthesis - how photosynthesis varies in time and space, responds and adapts to environmental conditions and differs among species within an evolutionary context - the book features contributions from leaders in the field. The approach is interdisciplinary and the topics covered have applications for ecology, environmental sciences, agronomy, forestry and meteorology. It also addresses applied fields such as climate change, biomass and biofuel production and genetic engineering, making a valuable contribution to our understanding of the impacts of climate change on the primary productivity of the globe and on ecosystem stability"--