Temperature dependence of two parameters in a photosynthesis model
The temperature dependence of the photosynthetic parameters Vcmax, the maximum catalytic rate of the enzyme Rubisco, and Jmax, the maximum electron transport rate, were examined using published datasets. An Arrehenius equation, modified to account for decreases in each parameter at high temperatures, satisfactorily described the temperature response for both parameters. There was remarkable conformity in Vcmax and Jmax between all plants at Tleaf   30 °C. For both normalized Vcmax and Jmax, the maximum fractional error introduced by assuming a common temperature response function is  30 °C. The ratio Jmax/Vcmax varies with temperature, but analysis of the ratio at Tleaf = 25 °C using the fitted mean temperature response functions results in Jmax0/Vcmax0 = 2·00 ± 0·60 (SD, n = 43).