Are there systematic differences among contrasting plant species in the efficiency of respiratory energy production?
Rates of plant respiration are critical in determining the extent to which atmospheric carbon dioxide will be sequestered by the biosphere in a future, warmer world. This is because, on a global scale, plant respiration releases nearly ten times more carbon dioxide (one of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming) than does the burning of fossil fuels etc. At the individual plant level, plant respiration releases into the atmosphere between 25-80% of the carbon dioxide previously fixed by photosynthesis. This release of carbon dioxide is not all wasteful, however, as coupled to the release of respiratory carbon dioxide is the production of energy necessary for the growth and survival of plants. Critical in determining the efficiency of respiratory energy production (i.e. the amount of energy produced per unit carbon dioxide released) is whether respiration in the mitochondria take place via the energy-producing how cytochrome oxidase (Cox) pathway or the energy-wasting, alte
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