Frontiers in Plant Science (May 2013)
Underwater photosynthesis of submerged plants – recent advances and methods
Abstract
We describe the general background and the recent advances in research on underwater photosynthesis of leaf segments, whole communities and plant dominated aquatic ecosystems and present contemporary methods tailor made to quantify photosynthesis and carbon fixation under water. The majority of studies of aquatic photosynthesis have been carried out with detached leaves or thalli and this selectiveness influences the perception of the regulation of aquatic photosynthesis. We thus recommend assessing the influence of inorganic carbon and temperature on natural aquatic communities of variable density in addition to studying detached leaves in the scenarios of rising CO2 and temperature. Moreover, a growing number of researchers are interested in tolerance of terrestrial plants during flooding as torrential rains sometimes result in overland floods that inundate terrestrial plants. We propose to undertake studies to elucidate the importance of leaf acclimation of terrestrial plants to facilitate gas exchange and light utilisation under water as these acclimations influence underwater photosynthesis as well as internal aeration of plant tissues during submergence.
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