C3, C4 and CAM plants

global warming
relate the roles of C3, C4 and CAM plants on the increasing carbon dioxide
emission and global warming.
Importance of C4 plants
• What is in the chicken feed?
• Corn, C4 plant
Carbon cycle
• Plants to animal to co2 in atmosphere back to the plants
• Cut and burn a tree in the forest co2 in the atmosphere in increased
because we did not grow back another tree to take the co2 out of the
atmosphere (deforestation)
• Mine for petroleum, natural gas (methane) and coal. (Qatar is the
richest in the world because it produces the most natural gas)
• Burn fossil fuel produce co2 but no process to reabsorb it out of the
atmosphere but it dissolve in rain water and cause acidification of the
sea water
The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has drastically
increased since the Industrial Revolution began in the
1800s, and it continues to rise today due to human activities
such as the burning of fossil fuels.
The resulting global climate change, including an increase in average
temperatures
around the planet, may have far-reaching effects on plant
species.
Scientists are concerned that increasing CO2 concentration
and temperature may affect C3 and C4 plants differently,
thus changing the relative abundance of these species
in a given plant community.
Which type of plant would stand to gain more from increasing
CO2 levels?
Recall that in C3 plants, the binding of O2 rather
than CO2 by rubisco leads to photorespiration, lowering the
efficiency of photosynthesis. Rising CO2 levels should benefit
C3 plants by lowering the amount of photorespiration that
occurs.
C4 plants overcome this problem by concentrating CO2 in the
bundle-sheath cells at the cost of ATP. At the same time,
rising temperatures have the opposite effect, increasing
photorespiration. (Other factors such as water availability may
also come into play.)
Another role of C3 plants
• Most forest are C3 plants, so C3 are going to be the main species that
will help to reforest our planet if we decide to reverse global warming
In contrast, many C4 plants could be largely
unaffected by increasing CO2 levels or temperature. Researchers
have investigated aspects of this question in several studies;
If larger areas of the globe have a warmer climate, C4 plants is the
most likely better adapt crop plant for food production
You can work with data from one such experiment in the
Scientific
Skills Exercise. In different regions, the particular combination
of CO2 concentration and temperature is likely to alter the
balance of C3 and C4 plants in varying ways. The effects of such
a widespread and variable change in community structure are
CAM plants
• If drought becomes common in an area due to climate change then
CAM plants will survive better in the wild.
• Cultivation may have to change from C4 to CAM plants
• But CAM plants grow slowly. Food production may decrease
• Food producing CAM plants are pineapple and dragon fruit
• Reduce global co2 levels