Chapter 19, Problem 32E

Summary Introduction

To explain:  The reason why C₄ plants have an advantage over C₃ plants under drought conditions.

Concept introduction:

Botanists use C₃, C₄, and CAM as a method to classify the Earth’s plants into categories, which refer to the number of first carbon compounds to which the CO₂ is fixed. The majority of land plants uses C₃ pathway. In higher plants, certain respiratory processes take place where the plants uptake oxygen in the presence of sunlight and release CO₂ into atmosphere. This process is entirely different from the photosynthesis process.