Climate change increases net CO₂ assimilation in the leaves of strawberry, but not yield

ABSTRACT

Fruit growth in strawberry is dependent on photosynthesis in the leaves. The main scenarios for climate change include an increase in the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere and an increase in temperature. This review examined photosynthesis in strawberry. The mean photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) for the saturation of CO₂ assimilation was 1,031 ± 447 µmol per m² per s, the median was 1,000 µmol per m² per s, and the range was from 467 to 2,200 µmol per m² per s (N = 59). The mean concentration of CO₂ for the saturation of assimilation was 869 ± 306 ppm, the median was 900 ppm, and the range was from 410 to 1,750 ppm (N = 32). The optimum temperature range for CO₂ assimilation was 20° to 30°C, with lower photosynthesis at lower or higher temperatures. The optimum temperatures for photosynthesis are higher than those for flowering and fruit growth. The impact of climate change on production varies across growing areas. In warm locations, higher temperatures increase photosynthesis, but not yield. In cool locations, higher temperatures increase plant growth and the length of the production season, but this comes at the expense of flower initiation.

KEYWORDS:

• climate change
• concentration of CO₂
• global warming
• temperature
• yield

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

The author confirms that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the supplementary materials published online with this paper or available from the author on reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14620316.2023.2263773

Additional information

Funding

The Queensland Government funded the research through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Financial support from the Florida Strawberry Growers’ Association (FSGA) is appreciated. Special thanks to Helen Macpherson, Danielle Hoffmann and Cheryl Petroeschevsky from DAF for supplying much of the literature. Dr Juha Heijari from the University of Kuopio, Finland kindly provided Figure 1, while Dr Helmut Kirchhoff from Washington State University provided Figure 2.