Understanding how vegetation responds to temperature and coordinates carbon uptake with water loss is a central issue in global change ecology and Earth system science. While previous studies have mainly focused on the optimal temperature of photosynthesis, the thermal response of transpiration remains poorly constrained.

To address this gap, Prof. FU Zheng's team at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with international partners, found that plants sustain transpiration at higher temperatures than photosynthesis under heat stress, revealing a thermal decoupling between carbon uptake and water loss in terrestrial ecosystems.