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Carbon Isotope Ratios and Physiological Processes in Aridland Plants

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Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 68))

Abstract

Carbon isotope ratios in plants were initially used to investigate photosynthetic pathway types and have more recently been extended to studies of water-use efficiency in C3 plants. The previous chapter by Farquhar et al. laid down the theoretical framework for why carbon isotope ratios should provide valuable insights into plant water-use efficiency studies and also provided strong experimental evidence of these patterns among agronomically important species. In this chapter, I focus on how carbon isotope ratios can be utilized in studies of aridland plants to understand ecophysiological processes.

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Ehleringer, J.R. (1989). Carbon Isotope Ratios and Physiological Processes in Aridland Plants. In: Rundel, P.W., Ehleringer, J.R., Nagy, K.A. (eds) Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research. Ecological Studies, vol 68. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3498-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3498-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8127-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3498-2

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