Ecophysiology of Plant Respiration

Abstract This chapter discusses the two respiration parameters, including O 2 and CO 2 . A new technique based on cavity‐enhanced Raman multi‐gas spectrometry (CERS) that claims to have the potential to measure both O 2 consumption and CO 2 production on large closed systems which is a great leap forward in respiration studies, especially for the measurement of respiratory quotient (RQ). The chapter explains treatment of the O 2 /CO 2 paradigm, there are many situations where the amount of CO 2 produced during respiration is similar to the amount of O 2 consumed. Furthermore, the chapter describes the plant carbon balance resulting from contributions from photosynthesis, photorespiration and respiration. The eddy co‐variance (EC) method allows estimations to be made of the net global carbon balance through the assessment of CO 2 , water and temperature fluxes under a broad range of both temporal and spatial scales.