Quantification of photosynthetic inorganic carbon utilisation via a bidirectional stable carbon isotope tracer

The amount of bicarbonate utilised by plants is usually ignored because of limited measurement methods. Accordingly, this study quantified the photosynthetic assimilation of inorganic carbon (CO2 and HCO3 −) by plants. The net photosynthetic CO2 assimilation (PN), the photosynthetic assimilation of CO2 and bicarbonate (PN’), the proportion of increased leaf area (fLA) and the stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of Orychophragmus violaceus (Ov) and Brassica juncea (Bj) under three bicarbonate levels (5, 10 and 15 mm NaHCO3) were examined to determine the relationship among PN, PN’ and fLA. PN’, not PN, changed synchronously with fLA. Moreover, the proportions of exogenous bicarbonate and total bicarbonate (including exogenous bicarbonate and dissolved CO2-generated bicarbonate) utilised by Ov were 2.27 % and 5.28 % at 5 mm bicarbonate, 7.06 % and 13.28 % at 10 mm bicarbonate, and 8.55 % and 17.31 % at 15 mm bicarbonate, respectively. Meanwhile, the proportions of exogenous bicarbonate and total bicarbonate utilised by Bj were 1.77 % and 3.28 % at 5 mm bicarbonate, 2.11 % and 3.10 % at 10 mm bicarbonate, and 2.36 % and 3.09 % at 15 mm bicarbonate, respectively. Therefore, the dissolved CO2-generated bicarbonate and exogenous bicarbonate are important sources of inorganic carbon for plants. © 2016, Science Press, Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.