From leaf to globe: Shared patterns of respiration across diverse species and biomes

Leaf respiration (R) represents a massive flux of carbon to the atmosphere - roughly six times the amount of carbon released through fossil fuel emissions each year! However, respiration remains difficult to accurately represent in larger-scale physiological and earth system models, as it is a collective of multiple environmentally-sensitive biochemical processes. Recent global field-based surveys of respiration and its short-term temperature response reveal quantitative relationships shared across diverse species representing a range of ecosystems and local climates. This observed convergence offers opportunities to improve how this important flux is represented in models.