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Utilizing Soil Density Fractionation to Separate Distinct Soil Carbon Pools
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What determines carbon partitioning between competing sinks?

P E Minchin1, M R Thorpe

  • 1Horticultural and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited, PO Box 31-313, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

Journal of Experimental Botany
|January 20, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sink strength, a measure of carbohydrate flow into plant sinks, is not solely a sink property but a system characteristic. A revised model using Münch

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Area of Science:

  • Plant Physiology
  • Biophysics
  • Photosynthate Allocation

Background:

  • Carbohydrate sinks in plants are characterized by their ability to attract photosynthate and their priority for supply.
  • Sink strength, traditionally defined as carbohydrate flow rate, is influenced by supply, competing sinks, and transport pathway resistance.
  • This indicates sink strength is a property of the entire plant system, not an isolated sink characteristic.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the definition and utility of "sink strength" in plant physiology.
  • To explore an alternative model for understanding plant carbohydrate source-sink relationships.
  • To review the efficacy of a revised model in mimicking observed plant carbohydrate dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on plant carbohydrate transport and source-sink relationships.
  • Analysis of a simple phloem flow model incorporating Münch's hypothesis and saturable unloading.
  • Comparison of model outputs with observed plant source-sink behaviors.

Main Results:

  • The traditional definition of sink strength as a flow rate is shown to be an invalid descriptor of a sink alone.
  • A simple model based on Münch's ideas with saturable unloading effectively mimics key aspects of plant source-sink relations.
  • This model generates a set of valid sink descriptors and explains sink priority.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of sink strength requires re-evaluation as it is a systemic, not a sink-specific, property.
  • A revised model of phloem flow provides a more accurate framework for understanding carbohydrate allocation in plants.
  • This model offers valuable insights into sink prioritization and plant resource distribution.