Thermal acclimation of leaf respiration is consistent in tropical and subtropical populations of two mangrove species.

Populations from different climates often show unique growth responses to temperature, reflecting temperature adaptation. Yet, whether populations from different climates differ in physiological temperature acclimation remains unclear. Here, we test whether populations from differing thermal environments exhibit different growth responses to temperature and differences in temperature acclimation of leaf respiration.

Temperature acclimation of leaf respiration differs between marsh and mangrove vegetation in a coastal wetland ecotone.

Temperature acclimation of leaf respiration (R) is an important determinant of ecosystem responses to temperature and the magnitude of temperature-CO feedbacks as climate warms. Yet, the extent to which temperature acclimation of R exhibits a common pattern across different growth conditions, ecosystems, and plant functional types remains unclear. Here, we measured the short-term temperature response of R at six time points over a 10-month period in two coastal wetland species (Avicennia germinans [C mangrove] and Spartina alterniflora [C marsh grass]) growing under ambient and experimentally warmed temperatures at two sites in a marsh-mangrove ecotone.