Abstract: The photosynthetic responses to light (A/light response) at different CO2 concentration levels were studied in five coastal desert plant species (two C4 species and three C3 species) and five tropical rain forest plant species (all C3' s) using LI-6400 Portable Photosynthesis System. The measurements were carried out in the Coastal Desert and Tropical Rain Forest mesocosms of Biosphere 2 located in Oracle, Arizona, USA. All the species measured had been growing in Biosphere 2 under very high CO2 concentrations (1500～4000 μmol · mol-1) for about four and half years. The authors measured A/light response curves in intact leaves of different species under a series of CO2 concentrations, 350 to 1500 μmol ~ mol-1. Except for the C4 grass, Panicurn maximum, the initial slopes and convexity (0) of A/light curves of all the species increased with the elevation of CO2 concentration. For most C3 species the light compensation points (LCP) and light saturation points (LSP) had increased when CO2 concentrations were elevated, especialy the LSPs. But for the C4 species, changes in LCPs and LSPs were small. In all the C3 species and the C4 shrub, Atriplesc canescens, the apparent maximum quantum yield of CO2 fixation (Φm, app) and maximum assimilation rate (Amax) increased under elevated CO2. But both Φmapp and Amax in Panicum maximum (C4) decreased. The Amax in Biosphere 2 increased by 127 % when CO2 concentration was doubled (from 375 to 750 μmol · mol-1), and C4 species by 39%. Such great enhancement could possibly be due to the fact that the plants had developed under very high CO2 concentration and large growth rooms in Biosphere 2.

Key words: Light compensation points, Light saturation points, A/light response curve, CO2 concentration, Apparent maximum quantum yield of CO2 fixation, Maximum assimilation rate, Biosphere 2