The concept of construction costs comes from microbiology, when studying the different metabolic pathways that heterotrophic microorganisms use for producing biomass.
Using approaches to determine the concentrations of these groups of compounds then enables calculation of plant organs construction costs.
Consequence of using shortcut methods is that less insight is obtained as to the underlying reasons why construction costs differ between organisms.
Seeds and fruits may have very high concentrations of sugars, or of protein, and/or lipids, and therefore show a much wider range in construction costs (1.1 - 2.3 g g−1).
Payback time of leaves vary from a few days for fast-growing herbaceous species under optimal conditions, to three months or more for plants growing in low-light environments.