PHOTOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY TYPES IN GRASSLAND PLANT-SPECIES FROM NORTHEAST CHINA

Photosynthetic pathway type, based on delta(13)C measurements, was det ermined for 48 species in 39 genera and 15 families of flowering plant s from the grassland region of Northeast China. Of this total, 10 spec ies in 10 genera from 4 families were found to have C-4 photosynthesis ; 38 species in 29 genera from 13 families had C-3 photosynthesis. One C-4 species in the Chenopodiaceae and three in the Gramineae had not been previously documented in the literature. The C-4 species were mos t frequent in disturbed habitats, meadow steppe and saline grassland; C-3 species dominated the other habitats sampled.