The course "Plant Ecophysiology" deals with carbon, water and nutrient balance of plants in different environments. These basic physiological processes will be introduced and described. Emphasis of the course lies on the influence of environmental conditions on these physiological processes be it short-term response, long term acclimation or genetic adaptation.
Lectures 3, labs 3, credits 3
Prerequisite: BIOL 1506/7
Outline
The scope of ecophysiology; environmental stress; tradeoffs; stress response; acclimation; adaptation. Photosynthesis: Importance; discovery of mechanism; light reaction; Calvin cycle; photorespiration.
Photosynthesis: supply and demand for CO2; leaf conductance for CO2; response to CO2; response to light; acclimation and adaptation to different light environments; the xanthophyll cycle; response to sunflecks. Photosynthesis: regulation by sink strength; influence of leaf age; response to water supply; carbon isotope fractination; response to nutrients; response to temperature; response to atmospheric CO2 concentration. C4 pathway of photosynthesis; advantage and disadvantage of C4 pathway in different environments; CAM pathway of photosynthesis and its advantages and disadvantages in different environments; photosynthesis under water.
Respiration: glycolysis; Krebs cycle; electron transfer chain; oxidative phosphorylation; respiratory quotient; alternative pathway. Respiration in low oxygen environments: response, acclimation and adaptation; environmental variation in respiration rates.
Phloem loading: structures; symplasmic and apoplasmic pathways; environmental constraints; long-distance transport of photosynthates; phloem unloading.
Plant–water relations; water potential; xylem transport; hydraulic conductivity; cavitation; turgor and elastic modulus. Water in soil; water uptake by plants. Transpiration; stomatal regulation; other regulation mechanisms than stomata. Leaf energy budgets, freezing tolerance.
Mineral nutrients; mechanisms and processes of nutrient acquisition. Interactions between limiting factors; nutrient use efficiency
Textbook:
Plant Physiological Ecology
Lambers, Hans, Chapin, III, F. Stuart, Pons, Thijs L.
2nd ed., 2008.
Lab work
In the labs hands-on experiments will be conducted to understand some important physiological processes.