Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Originally published in Science Express on 8 March 2001
Science 30 March 2001:
Vol. 291. no. 5513, pp. 2562 - 2563
DOI: 10.1126/science.1059472
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Perspectives

CARBON CYCLE:
Discriminating Plants

F. I. Woodward

The isotopic composition of atmospheric carbon dioxide provides a measure of the terrestrial carbon sink, that is, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the terrestrial biosphere. First, however, a quantitative understanding of the plant response to carbon dioxide containing 18O is required. In his Perspective, Woodward discusses the report by Gillon and Yakir, who suggest that current understanding of the way in which plants discriminate against carbon dioxide containing 18O is incomplete, resulting in incorrect sink estimates.

The author is in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK. E-mail: F.I.Woodward{at}Sheffield.ac.uk

Read the Full Text

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)