Drought stress affects temperature response of leaf dark respiration in Mediterranean coastal maquis species
Leaf dark respiration (R-D) plays a key role in plant carbon balance and the knowledge about how environmental stresses affect the response of R-D to temperature under field conditions, might improve the reliability of carbon budget models. This study analyzed the influence of air temperature and drought on the short-term temperature response of R-D of three woody ever green Mediterranean species. The field activities were carried out in two different coastal sites of Italy and for each site, two different areas located near the shoreline and inland were considered.