The effect of the high CO2 on leaf anatomy and other leaf features in three Atlantic Forest trees

• Grant number: 08/01849-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2008
• End date: July 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Silveira Buckeridge
• Grantee: Leonardo Hamachi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

It is currently accepted that CO2 is the main gas which causes global warming, his effect being thought to be a consequence of human activities. The rise in CO2 concentration has several effects on plants. Among these is increasing photosynthetic capacity which not only improves the internal flux of carbon, but it also provokes anatomical changes. At the ultrastructural level, chloroplasts become larger, with large starch grains and at the leaf surface, stomatal index has been shown to decrease with increasing CO2 concentration and increasing temperature. In the present proposal, we intend to compare the effects on leaf anatomy traits (stomatal index, epidermal thickness, cell sizes) of three legume species belonging to different functional positions in ecological succession: Sesbania virgata,a pioneer, Schyzolobium parahyba a secondary species and Hymenaea courbaril, a late secondary species. The leaves will be obtained from an experiment performed in conjunction with a PhD student of the group (Adriana Yepes) which is aimed to understand physiological responses of the species to the global environmental changes. Leaves will be collected, fixed and embedded and will have their anatomical traits analyzed by light microscopy. (AU)