干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

According to the presence of Kranz syndrome and from published data, an evaluation of types of photosynthesis of plants of Eastern Pamir is given. In the belt of high-mountain deserts, eight species were found with the C-4 type of photosynthesis, which belong to the Chenopodiaceae family: Atriplex centralasiatica, A. sibirica, A. pamirica, Climacoptera lanata, Halogeton glomeratus, H. tibeticus, Salsola pestifer, and S. paulsenii. Kranz anatomy was not discovered in one of the species of the Salsola genus (S. montana) or in species of the Bar;sia (B. dasyphylla) and Suaeda (S. olufsenii) genera. The upper altitudinal boundary of occurrence of C-4-species found in Eastern Pamir was noted at an elevation of 3900-4100 m, which significantly exceeds the known limits of occurrence of plants with cooperative photosynthesis. The possibility of C-4-species’ habitation in extreme conditions of high-mountain deserts is due to the arid climate, the presence of favorable microconditions, and increased cold resistance of these plants’ photosynthetic apparatus.