On the variability of respiration in terrestrial ecosystems: moving beyond Q10

Respiration, which is the second most important carbon flux in ecosystems following gross primary productivity, is typically represented in biogeochemical models by simple temperature dependence equations. These equations were established in the 19th century and have been modified very little since then. Recent applications of these equations to data on soil respiration have produced highly variable apparent temperature sensitivities. This paper searches for reasons for this variability, ranging from biochemical reactions to ecosystem‐scale substrate supply. For a simple membrane‐bound enzymatic system that follows Michaelis–Menten kinetics, the temperature sensitivities of maximum enzyme activity (V_max) and the half‐saturation constant that reflects the affinity of the enzyme for the substrate (K_m) can cancel each other to produce no net temperature dependence of the enzyme. Alternatively, when diffusion of substrates covaries with temperature, then the combined temperature sensitivity can be higher than that of each individual process. We also present examples to show that soluble carbon substrate supply is likely to be important at scales ranging from transport across membranes, diffusion through soil water films, allocation to aboveground and belowground plant tissues, phenological patterns of carbon allocation and growth, and intersite differences in productivity. Robust models of soil respiration will require that the direct effects of substrate supply, temperature, and desiccation stress be separated from the indirect effects of temperature and soil water content on substrate diffusion and availability. We speculate that apparent Q₁₀ values of respiration that are significantly above about 2.5 probably indicate that some unidentified process of substrate supply is confounded with observed temperature variation.     

A new species of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae) from Chiapas, Mexico

Ceratozamia zoquorum sp. nov. from the northern mountains of Chiapas, Mexico, is described and illustrated. It has affinities with C. miqueliana Wendl. from Veracruz, but differs in leaf, male female cone and trunk morphology.     

The Response of Atriplex amnicola to the Interactive Effects of Salinity and Hypoxia

The growth of Atriplex amnicola, its water and ion relations,and carbohydrate use were investigated in response to the interactiveeffects of salinity and root zone hypoxia in an experiment conductedin nutrient culture. One week of hypoxia in the root zone atboth 50 and 400 mol m^–3 NaCl caused the cessation of rootgrowth, a reduction in shoot growth, and adversely affectedwater relations, but not ion relations or carbohydrate concentrations.Two weeks of hypoxia at 400 mol m^–3 NaCl resulted in thedeath of root tips, a 20–fold increase in the resistanceto water flow from the exterior of the roots to the leaves,and a further deterioration in water relations. There was alsoa doubling of Cl^– concentrations in the xylem sap anda doubling of Na⁺ and Cl^– concentrations in the leaves.An increase in the concentration of starch in the leaves, andsugars in the leaves, stems and roots, indicated that therewere problems with carbohydrate use rather than supply. Underthe prevailing conditions of low vapour pressure deficit, iontoxicity was the most probable cause of injury to A. amnicolain hypoxic solutions at high salinity. The response of A. amnicolato the interactive effects of salinity and hypoxia were similarto those reported for non-halophytes, but occurred at highersalinities. Key words: Atriplex, hypoxia, salinity, water relations, ion transport, carbohydrate