Influence of canopy position, needle age and season on the foliar gas exchange of Pinus canariensis

Abstract

We investigated the seasonal variation in the gas exchange of current and 1-year-old needles in the upper sun and lower shade crown of adult Pinus canariensis trees. In general, current year needles displayed lower gas exchange rates than the 1-year-old needles. In both needle age classes, gas exchange was significantly lower in the shade than in the sun crown. However irrespective of crown position and needle age, maximum daily net photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal conductance for water vapour were generally higher during the wet and cold winter as compared to the dry and hot summer. These higher gas exchange values obtained during the cold and wet season can mainly be explained by higher soil-water availability and lower evaporative demand as compared to the warm and dry seaon. In addition, we also observed a displacement in the temperature optimum of net photosynthesis towards lower temperatures during the cold and wet season as compared to the warm and dry season. The observed gas exchange characteristics indicate a conservative water saving strategy and thus allowing P. canariensis needles to maintain a positive carbon gain even at periods of high evaporative demand and low soil-water availability.