Leaf dark respiration (R) is an important component of plant carbon balance, but the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 on leaf R during illumination are largely unknown. We studied the effects of elevated CO 2 on leaf R in light (RL) and in darkness (RD) in Xanthium strumarium at different developmental stages. Leaf RL was estimated by using the Kok method, whereas leaf RD was measured as the rate of CO 2 efflux at zero light. Leaf RL and RD were significantly higher at elevated than at ambient CO2 throughout the growing period. Elevated CO2 increased the ratio of leaf RL to net photosynthesis at saturated light (Amax) when plants were young and also after flowering, but the ratio of leaf R D to Amax was unaffected by CO2 levels. Leaf RN was significantly higher at the beginning but significantly lower at the end of the growing period in elevated CO 2-grown plants. The ratio of leaf RL to RD was used to estimate the effect of light on leaf R during the day. We found that light inhibited leaf R at both CO2 concentrations but to a lesser degree for elevated (17-24%) than for ambient (29 -35%) CO2-grown plants, presumably because elevated CO 2-grown plants had a higher demand for energy and carbon skeletons than ambient CO2-grown plants in light. Our results suggest that using the CO2 efflux rate, determined by shading leaves during the day, as a measure for leaf R is likely to underestimate carbon loss from elevated CO 2-grown plants.P hotosynthesis and mitochondrial respiration (also referred to as dark respiration, as opposed to photorespiration) are metabolic pathways that produce ATP and reductants to meet energy demands for plant growth and maintenance. Although the light reaction in photosynthesis provides ATP and reductants for biosynthesis in a leaf cell during illumination, mitochondrial respiration in light is necessary for biosynthetic reactions in the cytosol, such as sucrose synthesis (1, 2). Respiratory activity in light can even be considered part of the photosynthetic process, because it is needed to regulate the state of stromal redox during photosynthesis (3) and to maintain the cytosolic ATP pool (1). Mitochondrial respiration might also be a source for biosynthetic precursors, such as acetyl-CoA or acetate for chloroplastic fatty acid synthesis in light (1). The required magnitude of mitochondrial respiration in light is therefore determined by the potential need for this process to provide energy and carbon skeletons in the light (2).Mitochondrial respiratory activity during illumination varies between 25 and 100% of the respiratory activity in darkness (1). The lower rate of nonphotorespiratory mitochondrial CO 2 release during illumination has been interpreted as evidence for partial inhibition of leaf respiration by light (4-6). The magnitude of light inhibition of respiration seems to depend on the photosynthetic capacity (1), but the mechanism of light regulation of mitochondrial respiration is not clearly understood (2, 3). Although there has been much study of, albeit little agreement o...