Photosynthetic pathway variation among C4 grasses along a precipitation gradient in Argentina

MARCELO CABIDO, ESTELA PONS, JUAN JOSE CANTERO, JUAN PABLO LEWIS AND ANA ANTON

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY

Año: 2007 vol. 35 p. 131 - 140

0305-0270

Aim Based on the biochemical and physiological attributes of C4 grasses, and on the close association between decarboxylation pathways and the taxa in which they evolved, the hypotheses tested were: (1) that C4 grasses would become progressively more abundant as precipitation decreased, with grasses of the NADP-me subtype more abundant in wetter sites and those of the NAD-me subtype more common in arid regions; and (2) that the distribution of grass subfamilies would also be correlated with annual precipitation.Based on the biochemical and physiological attributes of C4 grasses, and on the close association between decarboxylation pathways and the taxa in which they evolved, the hypotheses tested were: (1) that C4 grasses would become progressively more abundant as precipitation decreased, with grasses of the NADP-me subtype more abundant in wetter sites and those of the NAD-me subtype more common in arid regions; and (2) that the distribution of grass subfamilies would also be correlated with annual precipitation.