Abstract
Seasonal variation of temperature could place physiological constraints on the distribution and performance of tropical forest plants, associated with light and water availability. A simple way to assess the relationship between temperature and plant physiology is through the characterization of leaf traits. The main aim of this study was to evaluate, through foliar parameters, the responses of plants to inherent seasonality. A 0.09 ha plot was installed near the flux tower and albedo sensors at Montane Ombrophilous Dense Forest (MODF) - Santa Virgínia Nucleus. At the peak of the dry and wet seasons, the electron transport rate (ETR) and photosynthetic pigments were measured. The results indicated that in MODF, cold and light availability are the main factors that could be influencing the physiology of species, demonstrated by high ETR in the wet season (197.4 µmol e-m-2s-1) compared to the dry season (87.4 µmol e-m-2s-1). Photosynthetic pigments varied between seasons, we observed higher chlorophyll b content (p<0.05), and lower content of carotenoids and xanthophylls (p<0.01) and Chl a/b (p<0.01) in the dry season. The low temperatures and irradiance influenced metabolic activity.
Highlights
In Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest one of the key factors that drives community structure and composition between forest physiognomies is the altitude (Oliveira-Filho and Gomes, 2000; Sanchez et al, 2013), associated with environmental conditions, such as temperature, irradiance (Scudeller et al, 2001), cloud level and fog formation (Rosado et al, 2010, 2012; Vieira et al, 2011; Joly et al, 2012)
An approach to understand ecosystem functionality can be assessed though characterization of foliar parameters (Ollinger et al, 2008, 2010; Hollinger et al, 2009), since processes that modulate responses at the leaf level could be extrapolated to ecosystem process
The species selected to the present study show different successional strategies (Aidar et al, 2003)
Summary
In Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest one of the key factors that drives community structure and composition between forest physiognomies is the altitude (Oliveira-Filho and Gomes, 2000; Sanchez et al, 2013), associated with environmental conditions, such as temperature, irradiance (Scudeller et al, 2001), cloud level and fog formation (Rosado et al, 2010, 2012; Vieira et al, 2011; Joly et al, 2012). The functionality of these ecosystems can vary between sites and seasons. Forest albedo is spatially variable and temporally dynamic, influenced by plant and canopy traits and surface reflectivity, including forest composition and leaf phenology (Leonardi et al, 2015)
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