A peaked function for modeling temperature dependence of plant productivity

We suggests that temperature response of plant productivity can be modeled by the Arrhenius function modified to describe the effect of temperature on enzyme activity: GA(T) = 2f(T)/(1 + f2(T)), where f(T) = exp(Ea/RTopt − Ea/RT), R the universal gas constant, Ea the activation energy and Topt is the optimal temperature. In common with other functions used for modeling the temperature response of plant productivity, the curve of function G is almost symmetrical and bell-shaped. The special convenience of GA is that it relates the width of the “bell” to thermodynamic concepts, such as activation energy of chemical reactions converting carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates.