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Numerous studies have documented ecological sorting of C₃ and C₄ grasses along air temperature gradients. However, phylogenetically structured analyses suggest that closely related C₃ and C₄ grasses (in the same PACMAD clade: Panicoideae, Arundinoideae, Chloridoideae, Micrairoideae, Aristidoideae and Danthonioideae) occur in environments with similar air temperature, challenging our understanding of how the photosynthetic pathway influences grass biogeography. To better understand thermal differences between C₃ and C₄ grass lineages, we analysed the surface radiative temperature as an alternative measure that is more closely aligned with plant microclimate.

Hawaiian Islands, USA.

We used the MODIS land surface temperature (LST) product, a satellite‐based measurement of radiative temperature. We compared LST with mean annual air temperature (MAT) for …