Abstract
The optical properties of leaves and canopies determine the availability of radiation for photosynthesis and the penetration of light through tree canopies. How leaf absorptance, reflectance and transmittance and radiation transmission through tree canopies change with forest succession is not well understood. We measured the leaf optical properties in the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range of five Central European early-, mid- and late-successional temperate broadleaf tree species and studied the minimum light demand of the lowermost shade leaves and of the species’ offspring. Leaf absorptance in the 350–720 nm range varied between c. 70% and 77% in the crown of all five species with only a minor variation from the sun to the shade crown and between species. However, specific absorptance (absorptance normalized by mass per leaf area) increased about threefold from sun to shade leaves with decreasing leaf mass area (LMA) in the late-successional species (Carpinus betulus L., Tilia cordata Mill., Fagus sylvatica L.), while it was generally lower in the early- to mid-successional species (Betula pendula Roth, Quercus petraea (Matt.)Liebl.), where it changed only a little from sun to shade crown. Due to a significant increase in leaf area index, canopy PAR transmittance to the forest floor decreased from early- to late-successional species from ~15% to 1%–3% of incident PAR, linked to a decrease in the minimum light demand of the lowermost shade leaves (from ~20 to 1%–2%) and of the species’ saplings (from ~20 to 3%–4%). The median light intensity on the forest floor under a closed canopy was in all species lower than the saplings’ minimum light demand. We conclude that the optical properties of the sun leaves are very similar among early-, mid- and late-successional tree species, while the shade leaves of these groups differ not only morphologically, but also in terms of the resource investment needed to achieve high PAR absorptance.
Highlights
Plant productivity depends on the optical properties of leaves and tree crowns, as they influence the availability of radiation for photosynthesis
I.e., the spectral absorptance, reflectance and transmittance in the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range (380–760 nm), determine, together with the spatial distribution of leaves, the penetration of light through plant canopies and how much radiation is available for lower leaf strata and at the forest floor [1]
The leaf chlorophyll concentration commonly decreases with an increasing radiation intensity, while leaf mass area (LMA)
Summary
Plant productivity depends on the optical properties of leaves and tree crowns, as they influence the availability of radiation for photosynthesis. I.e., the spectral absorptance, reflectance and transmittance in the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range (380–760 nm), determine, together with the spatial distribution of leaves, the penetration of light through plant canopies and how much radiation is available for lower leaf strata and at the forest floor [1]. Major determinants of leaf spectral PAR reflectance, transmittance and absorptance are the chlorophyll. The leaf chlorophyll concentration commonly decreases with an increasing radiation intensity, while LMA and leaf thickness typically increase [4]. It is difficult to predict how leaf reflectance, transmittance and absorptance are changing along light-intensity gradients and how they differ between the foliage of light-demanding early-successional and shade-tolerant late-successional trees
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