Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Why are non-photosynthetic tissues generally 13C enriched compared with leaves in C3 plants? Review and synthesis of current hypotheses

Lucas A. Cernusak A N , Guillaume Tcherkez B , Claudia Keitel C , William K. Cornwell D , Louis S. Santiago E , Alexander Knohl F , Margaret M. Barbour G , David G. Williams H , Peter B. Reich I , David S. Ellsworth J , Todd E. Dawson K , Howard G. Griffiths L , Graham D. Farquhar C and Ian J. Wright M
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Charles Darwin University, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia.

B Plateforme Métabolisme-Metabolome IFR87, Batiment 630, IBP CNRS UMR8618, Université Paris-Sud XI, 91405 Orsay cedex, France.

C Environmental Biology Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

D Biodiversity Research Group, University of British Colombia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.

E Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.

F Institute of Plant Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8092, Switzerland.

G Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Gerald Street, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand.

H Department of Renewable Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.

I Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA.

J Center for Plant and Food Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW 1797, Australia.

K Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

L Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK.

M Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.

N Corresponding author. Email: lucas.cernusak@cdu.edu.au

Functional Plant Biology 36(3) 199-213 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP08216
Submitted: 6 August 2008  Accepted: 18 January 2009   Published: 2 March 2009

Abstract

Non-photosynthetic, or heterotrophic, tissues in C3 plants tend to be enriched in 13C compared with the leaves that supply them with photosynthate. This isotopic pattern has been observed for woody stems, roots, seeds and fruits, emerging leaves, and parasitic plants incapable of net CO2 fixation. Unlike in C3 plants, roots of herbaceous C4 plants are generally not 13C-enriched compared with leaves. We review six hypotheses aimed at explaining this isotopic pattern in C3 plants: (1) variation in biochemical composition of heterotrophic tissues compared with leaves; (2) seasonal separation of growth of leaves and heterotrophic tissues, with corresponding variation in photosynthetic discrimination against 13C; (3) differential use of day v. night sucrose between leaves and sink tissues, with day sucrose being relatively 13C-depleted and night sucrose 13C-enriched; (4) isotopic fractionation during dark respiration; (5) carbon fixation by PEP carboxylase; and (6) developmental variation in photosynthetic discrimination against 13C during leaf expansion. Although hypotheses (1) and (2) may contribute to the general pattern, they cannot explain all observations. Some evidence exists in support of hypotheses (3) through to (6), although for hypothesis (6) it is largely circumstantial. Hypothesis (3) provides a promising avenue for future research. Direct tests of these hypotheses should be carried out to provide insight into the mechanisms causing within-plant variation in carbon isotope composition.

Additional keywords: diel cycle, heterotrophic tissue, PEP-carboxylase, refixation, respiration.


Acknowledgements

This review resulted from a working group meeting funded by the ARC-NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function, headquartered in the Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. We thank the Network staff for their expert assistance in attending to organisational details. We thank Nerea Ubierna Lopez for comments on the manuscript. Lucas A. Cernusak gratefully acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council in the form of an APD Fellowship.


References


Atkin OK, Evans JR, Ball MC, Lambers H, Pons TL (2000) Leaf respiration of snow gum in the light and dark. Interactions between temperature and irradiance. Plant Physiology 122, 915–923.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Badeck FW, Tcherkez G, Nogues S, Piel C, Ghashghaie J (2005) Post-photosynthetic fractionation of stable carbon isotopes between plant organs – a widespread phenomenon. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 19, 1381–1391.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Barbour MM, Fischer RA, Sayre KD, Farquhar GD (2000) Oxygen isotope ratio of leaf and grain material correlates with stomatal conductance and grain yield in irrigated wheat. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 27, 625–637.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Barbour MM, McDowell NG, Tcherkez G, Bickford CP, Hanson DT (2007) A new measurement technique reveals rapid post-illumination changes in the carbon isotope composition of leaf-respired CO2. Plant, Cell & Environment 30, 469–482.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Bathellier C, Badeck F-W, Couzi P, Harscoët S, Mauve C, Ghashghaie J (2008) Divergence in δ13C of dark respired CO2 and bulk organic matter occurs during the transition between heterotrophy and autotrophy in Phaseolus vulgaris plants. New Phytologist 177, 406–418.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Bathellier C, Tcherkez G, Bligny R, Gout E, Cornic G, Ghashghaie J (2009) Metabolic origin of the δ13C of respired CO2 in roots of Phaseolus vulgaris L. New Phytologist 181, 387–399.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Behboudian MH, Ma Q, Turner NC, Palta JA (2000) Discrimination against 13CO2 in leaves, pod walls, and seeds of water-stressed chickpea. Photosynthetica 38, 155–157.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Bender M (1968) Mass spectrometric studies of carbon 13 variations in corn and other grasses. Radiocarbon 10, 468–472. open url image1

Berveiller D, Damesin C (2008) Carbon assimilation by tree stems: potential involvement of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Trees – Structure and Function 22, 149–157.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Bowling DR, Pataki DE, Randerson JT (2008) Carbon isotopes in terrestrial ecosystem pools and CO2 fluxes. New Phytologist 178, 24–40.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Boyer JS (1968) Relationship of water potential to growth of leaves. Plant Physiology 43, 1056–1062.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Brandes E, Kodama N, Whittaker K, Weston C, Rennenberg H, Keitel C, Adams MA, Gessler A (2006) Short-term variation in the isotopic composition of organic matter allocated from the leaves to the stem of Pinus sylvestris: effects of photosynthetic and postphotosynthetic carbon isotope fractionation. Global Change Biology 12, 1922–1939.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Brugnoli E , Farquhar GD (2000) Photosynthetic fractionation of carbon isotopes. In ‘Photosynthesis: physiology and metabolism’. (Eds RC Leegood, TC Sharkey, S von Caemmerer) pp. 399–434. (Kluwer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands)

Bunce JA (1977) Leaf elongation in relaiton to leaf water potential in soybean. Journal of Experimental Botany 28, 156–161.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Marshall JD (2001) Responses of foliar δ13C, gas exchange, and leaf morphology to reduced hydraulic conductivity in Pinus monticola branches. Tree Physiology 21, 1215–1222.
CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

Cernusak LA, Marshall JD, Comstock JP, Balster NJ (2001) Carbon isotope discrimination in photosynthetic bark. Oecologia 128, 24–35.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Pate JS, Farquhar GD (2002) Diurnal variation in the stable isotope composition of water and dry matter in fruiting Lupinus angustifolius under field conditions. Plant, Cell & Environment 25, 893–907.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Wong S-C, Farquhar GD (2003) Oxygen isotope composition of phloem sap in relation to leaf water in Ricinus communis. Functional Plant Biology 30, 1059–1070.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Farquhar GD, Wong SC, Stuart-Williams H (2004a) Measurement and interpretation of the oxygen isotope composition of carbon dioxide respired by leaves in the dark. Plant Physiology 136, 3350–3363.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Pate JS, Farquhar GD (2004b) Oxygen and carbon isotope composition of parasitic plants and their hosts in southwestern Australia. Oecologia 139, 199–213.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Farquhar GD, Pate J (2005) Environmental and physiological controls over oxygen and carbon isotope composition of Tasmanian blue gum, Eucalyptus globulus. Tree Physiology 25, 129–146.
CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

Cernusak LA, Hutley L, Beringer J, Tapper NJ (2006) Stem and leaf gas exchange and their responses to fire in a north Australian tropical savanna. Plant, Cell & Environment 29, 632–646.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Cernusak LA, Aranda J, Marshall JD, Winter K (2007) Large variation in whole-plant water-use efficiency among tropical tree species. New Phytologist 173, 294–305.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Choinski JS, Ralph P, Eamus D (2003) Changes in photosynthesis during leaf expansion in Corymbia gummifera. Australian Journal of Botany 51, 111–118.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Comstock JP (2001) Steady-state isotopic fractionation in branched pathways using plant uptake of NO3 − as an example. Planta 214, 220–234.
CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

Craig H (1953) The geochemistry of the stable carbon isotopes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 3, 53–92.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Craig H (1957) Isotopic standards for carbon and oxygen and correction factors for mass-spectrometric analysis of carbon dioxide. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 12, 133–149.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Damesin C, Lelarge C (2003) Carbon isotope composition of current-year shoots from Fagus sylvatica in relation to growth, respiration and use of reserves. Plant, Cell & Environment 26, 207–219.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Damesin C, Rambal S, Joffre R (1998) Seasonal and annual changes in leaf δ13C in two co-occuring Mediterranean oaks: relations to leaf growth and drought progression. Functional Ecology 12, 778–785.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Damesin C, Barbaroux C, Berveiller D, Lelarge C, Chaves M, Maguas C, Maia R, Pontailler JY (2005) The carbon isotope composition of CO2 respired by trunks: comparison of four sampling methods. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 19, 369–374.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Dawson TE, Mambelli S, Plamboeck AH, Templer PH, Tu KP (2002) Stable isotopes in plant ecology. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33, 507–559.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

de la Harpe AC, Visser JH, Grobbelaar N (1981) Photosynthetic characteristics of some South African parasitic flowering plants. Zeitschrift fur Pflanzenphysiologie 103, 265–275.
CAS |
open url image1

Deléens E, Ferhi A, Queiroz O (1983) Carbon isotope fractionation by plants using the C4 pathway. Physiologie Vegetale 21, 897–905. open url image1

Duranceau M, Ghashghaie J, Badeck F, Deleens E, Cornic G (1999) δ13C of CO2 respired in the dark in relation to δ13C of leaf carbohydrates in Phaseolus vulgaris L. under progressive drought. Plant, Cell & Environment 22, 515–523.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Duranceau M, Ghashghaie J, Brugnoli E (2001) Carbon isotope discrimination during photosynthesis and dark respiration in intact leaves of Nicotiana sylvestris: comparisons between wild type and mitochondrial mutant plants. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 28, 65–71.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD (1983) On the nature of carbon isotope discrimination in C4 species. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 10, 205–226.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, Cernusak LA (2005) On the isotopic composition of leaf water in the non-steady state. Functional Plant Biology 32, 293–303.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, Richards RA (1984) Isotopic composition of plant carbon correlates with water-use efficiency in wheat genotypes. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 11, 539–552.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, O’Leary MH, Berry JA (1982) On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 9, 121–137.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, Ehleringer JR, Hubick KT (1989) Carbon isotope discrimination and photosynthesis. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 40, 503–537.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, Lloyd J, Taylor JA, Flanagan LB, Syvertsen JP, Hubick KT, Wong SC, Ehleringer JR (1993) Vegetation effects on the isotope composition of oxygen in atmospheric CO2. Nature 363, 439–443.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Farquhar GD, Buckley TN, Miller JM (2002) Optimal stomatal control in relation to leaf area and nitrogen content. Silva Fennica 36, 625–637. open url image1

Feild TS, Brodribb TJ (2005) A unique mode of parasitism in the conifer coral tree Parasitaxus ustus (Podocarpaceae). Plant, Cell & Environment 28, 1316–1325.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Francey RJ, Gifford RM, Sharkey TD, Weir B (1985) Physiological influences on carbon isotope discrimination in huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii). Oecologia 66, 211–218. open url image1

Francey RJ, Tans PP, Allison CE, Enting IG, White JWC, Trolier M (1995) Changes in oceanic and terrestrial carbon uptake since 1982. Nature 373, 326–330.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Gebauer G, Schulze E-D (1991) Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in different compartments of a healthy and declining Picea abies forest in the Fichtelgebirge, NE Bavaria. Oecologia 87, 198–207.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Gessler A, Rennenberg H, Keitel C (2004) Stable isotope composition of organic compounds transported in the phloem of European beech – evaluation of different methods of phloem sap collection and assessment of gradients in carbon isotope composition during leaf-to-stem transport. Plant Biology 6, 721–729.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Gessler A, Keitel C, Kodama N, Weston C, Winters AJ, Keith H, Grice K, Leuning R, Farquhar GD (2007) δ13C of organic matter transported from the leaves to the roots in Eucalyptus delegatensis: short-term variations and relation to respired CO2. Functional Plant Biology 34, 692–706.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Gessler A, Tcherkez G, Peuke AD, Ghashghaie J, Farquhar GD (2008) Experimental evidence for diel variations of the carbon isotope composition in leaf, stem and phloem sap organic matter in Ricinus communis. Plant, Cell & Environment 31, 941–953.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Gessler A, Tcherkez G, Karyanto O, Keitel C, Ferrio JP, Ghashghaie J, Kreuzwieser J, Farquhar GD (2009) On the metabolic origin of the carbon isotope composition of CO2 evolved from darkened light-adapted leaves in Ricinus communis. New Phytologist 181, 374–386.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Ghashghaie J, Duranceau M, Badeck F-W, Cornic G, Adeline M-T, Deleens E (2001) δ13C of CO2 respired in the dark in relation to δ13C of leaf metabolites: comparison between Nicotiana sylvestris and Helianthus annuus under drought. Plant, Cell & Environment 24, 505–515.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ghashghaie J, Badeck F-W, Lanigan G, Nogues S, Tcherkez G, Deleens E, Cornic G, Griffiths H (2003) Carbon isotope fractionation during dark respiration and photorespiration in C3 plants. Phytochemistry Reviews 2, 145–161.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Gleixner G, Schmidt HL (1997) Carbon isotope effects on the fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase reaction, origin for non-statistical 13C distributions in carbohydrates. Journal of Biological Chemistry 272, 5382–5387.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Gleixner G, Danier HJ, Werner RA, Schmidt HL (1993) Correlations between the 13C content of primary and secondary plant products in different cell compartments and that in decomposing basidiomycetes. Plant Physiology 102, 1287–1290.
CAS | PubMed |
open url image1

Gleixner G, Scrimgeour C, Schmidt HL, Viola R (1998) Stable isotope distribution in the major metabolites of source and sink organs of Solanum tuberosum L.: a powerful tool in the study of metabolic partitioning in intact plants. Planta 207, 241–245.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Guehl JM, Domenach AM, Bereau M, Barigah TS, Casabianca H, Ferhi A, Garbaye J (1998) Functional diversity in an Amazonian rainforest of French Guyana: a dual isotope approach (δ15N and δ13C). Oecologia 116, 316–330.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Handley LL, Daft MJ, Wilson J, Scrimgeour CM, Ingleby K, Sattar MA (1993) Effects of ecto- and VA-mycorrhizal fungi Hydnagium carneum and Glomus clarum on the δ15N and δ13C values of Eucalyptus globulus and Ricinus communis. Plant, Cell & Environment 16, 375–382.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Hattersley PW (1982) δ13C values of C4 types in grasses. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 9, 139–154.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Henderson SA, von Caemmerer S, Farquhar GD (1992) Short-term measurements of carbon isotope discrimination in several C4 species. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 19, 263–285.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Hibberd JM, Quick WP (2002) Characteristics of C4 photosynthesis in stems and petioles of C3 flowering plants. Nature 415, 451–454.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Hobbie EA, Colpaert JV (2004) Nitrogen availability and mycorrhizal colonization influence water use efficiency and carbon isotope patterns in Pinus sylvestris. New Phytologist 164, 515–525.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hobbie EA, Werner RA (2004) Intramolecular, compound-specific, and bulk carbon isotope patterns in C3 and C4 plants: a review and synthesis. New Phytologist 161, 371–385.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Holtum JAM, Winter K (2005) Carbon isotope composition of canopy leaves in a tropical forest in Panama throughout a seasonal cycle. Trees – Structure and Function 19, 545–551.
CAS |
open url image1

Hubick KT, Farquhar GD, Shorter R (1986) Correlation between water-use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination in diverse peanut (Arachis) germplasm. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 13, 803–816.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Hymus GJ, Maseyk K, Valentini R, Yakir D (2005) Large daily variation in 13C enrichment of leaf-respired CO2 in two Quercus forest canopies. New Phytologist 167, 377–384.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Ineson P, Cotrufo MF, Bol R, Harkness DD, Blum H (1995) Quantification of soil carbon inputs under elevated CO2: C3 plants in a C4 soil. Plant and Soil 187, 345–350.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Klumpp K, Schaufele R, Lotscher M, Lattanzi FA, Feneis W, Schnyder H (2005) C-isotope composition of CO2 respired by shoots and roots: fractionation during dark respiration? Plant, Cell & Environment 28, 241–250.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Kursar TA, Coley PD (1992) Delayed development of the photosynthetic apparatus in tropical rain-forest species. Functional Ecology 6, 411–422.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Le Roux-Swarthout DJ, Terwilliger VJ, Christianson M, Martin C, Madhavan S (2000) Carbon isotope discrimination correlates with a range of ratios of phosphoenolpyruvate to total carboxylase activities found in two C3 species. Journal of Plant Physiology 157, 489–493.
CAS |
open url image1

Le Roux-Swarthout DJ, Terwilliger VJ, Christianson M, Martin C, Madhavan S (2001a) Carbon isotopic ratios of atmospheric CO2 affect the δ13C values of heterotrophic growth in Nicotiana tabacum. Plant Science 160, 563–570.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Le Roux-Swarthout DJ, Terwilliger VJ, Martin CE (2001b) Deviation between δ13C and leaf intercellular CO2 in Salix interior cuttings developing under low light. International Journal of Plant Sciences 162, 1017–1024.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Leavitt SW, Long A (1982) Evidence for 13C/12C fractionation between tree leaves and wood. Nature 298, 742–744.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Leavitt SW, Long A (1985) Stable-carbon isotopic composition of maple sap and foliage. Plant Physiology 78, 427–429.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Leavitt SW, Long A (1986) Stable-carbon isotope variability in tree foliage and wood. Ecology 67, 1002–1010.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Li SG, Tsujimura M, Sugimoto A, Davaa G, Oyunbaatar D, Sugita M (2007) Temporal variation of δ13C of larch leaves from a montane boreal forest in Mongolia. Trees – Structure and Function 21, 479–490. open url image1

Lloyd J, Kruijt B, Hollinger DY, Grace J, Francey RJ , et al. (1996) Vegetation effects on the isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 at local and regional scales: theoretical aspects and a comparison between rain forest in Amazonia and a boreal forest in Siberia. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 23, 371–399.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lowdon JA (1969) Isotopic fractionation in corn. Radiocarbon 11, 391–393. open url image1

Lowdon JA, Dyck W (1974) Seasonal variations in the isotope ratios of carbon in maple leaves and other plants. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 11, 79–88.
CAS |
open url image1

Martinelli LA, Almeida S, Brown IF, Moreira MZ, Victoria RL, Sternberg LSL, Ferreira CAC, Thomas WW (1998) Stable carbon isotope ratio of tree leaves, boles and fine litter in a tropical forest in Rondonia, Brazil. Oecologia 114, 170–179.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Maunoury F, Berveiller D, Lelarge C, Pontailler JY, Vanbostal L, Damesin C (2007) Seasonal, daily and diurnal variations in the stable carbon isotope composition of carbon dioxide respired by tree trunks in a deciduous oak forest. Oecologia 151, 268–279.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Melzer E, O’Leary MH (1987) Anapleurotic CO2 fixation by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in C3 plants. Plant Physiology 84, 58–60.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Miller JM, Williams RJ, Farquhar GD (2001) Carbon isotope discrimination by a sequence of Eucalyptus species along a subcontinental rainfall gradient in Australia. Functional Ecology 15, 222–232.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Moles AT, Westoby M (2000) Do small leaves expand faster than large leaves, and do shorter expansion times reduce herbivore damage? Oikos 90, 517–524.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Nier AO, Gulbransen EA (1939) Variations in the relative abundance of the carbon isotopes. Journal of the American Chemical Society 61, 697–698.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

O’Leary MH (1981) Carbon isotope fractionation in plants. Phytochemistry 20, 553–567.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ocheltree TW, Marshall JD (2004) Apparent respiratory discrimination is correlated with growth rate in the shoot apex of sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Journal of Experimental Botany 55, 2599–2605.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Olsson IU, Klasson M, Abd-El-Mageed A (1972) Uppsala natural radiocarbon measurements XI. Radiocarbon 14, 247–271. open url image1

Panek JA, Waring RH (1997) Stable carbon isotopes as indicators of limitations to forest growth imposed by climate stress. Ecological Applications 7, 854–863.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Park R, Epstein S (1960) Carbon isotope fractionation during photosynthesis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 21, 110–126.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Park R, Epstein S (1961) Metabolic fractionation of C13 and C12 in plants. Plant Physiology 36, 133–138.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Pate J, Arthur D (1998) δ13C analysis of phloem sap carbon: novel means of evaluating seasonal water stress and interpreting carbon isotope signatures of foliage and trunk wood of Eucalyptus globulus. Oecologia 117, 301–311.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pearcy RW, Troughton J (1975) C4 photosynthesis in tree form Euphorbia species from Hawaiian rainforest sites. Plant Physiology 55, 1054–1056.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Peisker M (1982) The effect of CO2 leakage from bundle sheath cells on carbon isotope discrimination in C4 plants. Photosynthetica 16, 533–541.
CAS |
open url image1

Peisker M, Henderson SA (1992) Carbon: terrestrial C4 plants. Plant, Cell & Environment 15, 987–1004.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Prater JL, Mortazavi B, Chanton JP (2006) Diurnal variation of the δ13C of pine needle respired CO2 evolved in darkness. Plant, Cell & Environment 29, 202–211.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Raven JA, Farquhar GD (1990) The influence of N metabolism and organic acid synthesis on the natural abundance of isotopes of carbon in plants. New Phytologist 116, 505–529.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Reibach PH, Benedict CR (1977) Fractionation of stable carbon isotopes by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from C4 plants. Plant Physiology 59, 564–568.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Saveyn A, Steppe K, Lemeur R (2007) Daytime depression in tree stem CO2 efflux rates: is it caused by low stem turgor pressure? Annals of Botany 99, 477–485.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Scartazza A, Lauteri M, Guido MC, Brugnoli E (1998) Carbon isotope discrimination in leaf and stem sugars, water-use efficiency and mesophyll conductance during different developmental stages in rice subjected to drought. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 25, 489–498.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Scartazza A, Mata C, Matteucci G, Yakir D, Moscatello S, Brugnoli E (2004) Comparisons of δ13C of photosynthetic products and ecosystem respiratory CO2 and their response to seasonal climate variability. Oecologia 140, 340–351.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Schleser GH (1992) δ13C pattern in a forest tree as an indicator of carbon transfer in trees. Ecology 73, 1922–1925.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Schlindwein CCD, Fett-Neto AG, Dillenburg LR (2006) Chemical and mechanical changes during leaf expansion of four woody species of a dry Restinga woodland. Plant Biology 8, 430–438.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Seibt U, Rajabi A, Griffiths H, Berry JA (2008) Carbon isotopes and water use efficiency: sense and sensitivity. Oecologia 155, 441–454.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Smedley MP, Dawson TE, Comstock JP, Donovan LA, Sherrill DE, Cook CS, Ehleringer JR (1991) Seasonal carbon isotope discrimination in a grassland community. Oecologia 85, 314–320.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Steppe K, De Pauw DJW, Lemeur R, Vanrolleghem PA (2005) A mathematical model linking tree sap flow dynamics to daily stem diameter fluctuations and radial stem growth. Tree Physiology 26, 257–273.
Crossref |
open url image1

Still CJ, Berry JA, Collatz GJ, DeFries RS (2003) Global distribution of C3 and C4 vegetation: carbon cycle implications. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17, 1006.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sun SC, Jin DM, Li RJ (2006) Leaf emergence in relation to leaf traits in temperate woody species in East-Chinese Quercus fabri forests. Acta Oecologica 30, 212–222.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Syvertsen JP, Smith ML, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD (1997) Net carbon dioxide assimilation, carbon isotope discrimination, growth, and water-use efficiency of Citrus trees in response to nitrogen status. Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science 122, 226–232. open url image1

Tcherkez G, Nogues S, Bleton J, Cornic G, Badeck F, Ghashghaie J (2003) Metabolic origin of carbon isotope composition of leaf dark-respired CO2 in French bean. Plant Physiology 131, 237–244.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Tcherkez G, Farquhar G, Badeck F, Ghashghaie J (2004) Theoretical considerations about carbon isotope distribution in glucose of C-3 plants. Functional Plant Biology 31, 857–877.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Terwilliger VJ (1997) Changes in the δ13C values of trees during a tropical rainy season: some effects in addition to diffusion and carboxylation by Rubisco? American Journal of Botany 84, 1693–1700.
CAS |
open url image1

Terwilliger VJ, Huang J (1996) Heterotrophic whole plant tissues show more 13C enrichment than their carbon sources. Phytochemistry 43, 1183–1188.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Terwilliger VJ, Kitajima K, Le Roux-Swarthout DJ, Mulkey S, Wright SJ (2001) Intrinsic water-use efficiency and heterotrophic investment in tropical leaf growth of two Neotropical pioneer tree species as estimated from δ13C values. New Phytologist 152, 267–281.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ubierna Lopez N , Marshall JD (2007) Water-use efficiency and stable carbon isotopes: accounting for photosynthetic refixation. Eos Transactions AGU 88(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract B23A–0920.

Vogel JC (1980) ‘Fractionation of the carbon isotopes during photosynthesis.’ (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Walter A, Schurr U (2005) Dynamics of leaf and root growth: endogenous control versus environmental impact. Annals of Botany 95, 891–900.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Wickman FE (1952) Variations in the relative abundance of the carbon isotopes in plants. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2, 243–254.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Wilson AT, Grinsted MJ (1977) 13C/12C in cellulose and lignin as palaeothermometers. Nature 265, 133–135.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M (2003) Least-cost input mixtures of water and nitrogen for photosynthesis. American Naturalist 161, 98–111.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Xu CY, Lin GH, Griffin KL, Sambrotto RN (2004) Leaf respiratory CO2 is 13C-enriched relative to leaf organic components in five species of C3 plants. New Phytologist 163, 499–505.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Yoder BJ, Ryan MG, Waring RH, Schoettle AW, Kaufmann MR (1994) Evidence of reduced photosynthetic rates in old trees. Forest Science 40, 513–527. open url image1

Yoneyama T, Ohtani T (1983) Variations of natural 13C abundances in leguminous plants. Plant & Cell Physiology 24, 971–977.
CAS |
open url image1

Yoneyama T , Fujiwara H , Wilson JM (1998) Variations in fractionation of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in higher plants: N metabolism and partitioning in phloem and xylem. In ‘Stable isotopes: integration of biological, ecological, and geochemical processes’. (Ed. H Griffiths) pp. 99–109. (BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd: Oxford)

Yoneyama T, Fujiwara H, Engelaar W (2000) Weather and nodule mediated variations in δ13C and δ15N values in field-grown soybean (Glycine max L.) with special interest in the analyses of xylem fluids. Journal of Experimental Botany 51, 559–566.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Ziegler H (1994) Deuterium content in organic material of hosts and their parasites. In ‘Ecophysiology of photosynthesis’. (Eds E-D Schulze, M Caldwell) pp. 393–408. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)