{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T06:51:55Z","timestamp":1791442315586,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785715200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785715200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000270","name":"Natural Environment Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NE\/T000759\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NE\/T000759\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000270","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001321","name":"National Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CPRR23030680939"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CPRR23030680939"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001321","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Plant Cell & Environment"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Rising atmospheric CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n is expected to have limited direct effects on C\n 4<\/jats:sub>\n photosynthesis because the carbon\u2010concentrating mechanism maintains near\u2010saturating CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n at Rubisco. Consequently, growth responses of C\n 4<\/jats:sub>\n plants to elevated CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n (eCO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n ) are generally attributed to indirect improvements in plant water relations. However, it remains unclear whether sustained exposure to eCO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n also induces changes in photosynthetic capacity that contribute directly to carbon gain. We examined the interactive effects of CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n concentration and soil water availability on photosynthesis, biochemical capacity, and growth in three African C\n 4<\/jats:sub>\n grasses grown under ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (550 ppm) CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n . Elevated CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n increased net photosynthesis across species, with stronger responses under drought. Intrinsic water\u2010use efficiency increased primarily through enhanced assimilation, while stomatal responses were contingent on water availability rather than driven directly by elevated CO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n . Importantly, eCO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n induced species\u2010 and context\u2010dependent increases in apparent photosynthetic capacity after prolonged treatment exposure.\n Megathyrsus maximus<\/jats:italic>\n showed strong V\n cmax<\/jats:sub>\n increases under both water treatments and J\n max<\/jats:sub>\n upregulation under well\u2010watered conditions,\n Heteropogon contortus<\/jats:italic>\n exhibited biochemical upregulation primarily under drought, and\n Themeda triandra<\/jats:italic>\n showed little evidence of acclimation. Growth responses closely mirrored these physiological patterns, occurring only in species exhibiting coordinated biochemical adjustment. These results indicate that C\n 4<\/jats:sub>\n responses to eCO\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n cannot be explained solely by stomatal water saving and provide evidence that species\u2010specific changes in apparent photosynthetic capacity may contribute to sustained carbon gain, particularly under water limitation.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/pce.70785","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T09:45:02Z","timestamp":1785750302000},"page":"8870-8882","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["CO\n 2<\/sub>\n Fertilisation of Growth in Wild C\n 4<\/sub>\n Grasses may be Amplified by Upregulated Photosynthesis"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"49","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6077-6623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edith J.","family":"Singini","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Botany Department Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2786-3976","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sally","family":"Archibald","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7423-3718","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Colin P.","family":"Osborne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield Sheffield UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4546-2618","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Brad S.","family":"Ripley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Botany Department Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-3040.2007.01641.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.15375"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v067.i01"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1071\/PP9920519"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/666098"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-022-32545-0"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-3040.2000.00609.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1071\/PP00078"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1365-2435.70394"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_11_1","volume-title":"Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. 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