Canopy Light Gradient Research Articles

Acclimation to high irradiance in temperate deciduous trees in the field: changes in xanthophyll cycle pool size and in photosynthetic capacity along a canopy light gradient

To test the hypothesis that in temperate deciduous trees acclimation to potentially damaging high irradiances occurs via long‐term adjustments in foliar photosynthetic capacity, and short‐term changes in xanthophyll cycle pool size in response to weather fluctuations, nitrogen concentration and pigment composition were examined along a canopy light gradient in three species –Betula pendula, Populus tremula and Tilia cordata (from most shade intolerant to tolerant), and foliage photosynthetic potentials in P. tremula and T. cordata. Integrated quantum flux density (Qi) incident on leaves was estimated with a method combining hemispherical photography and light measurements with quantum sensors made over the growing season. Long‐ and short‐term light indices – average total seasonal daily integrated quantum flux density (Ts, mol m–2 d–1) and that of the 3 d preceding foliage sampling (T3d) – were calculated for each sampled leaf. In addition to total integrated quantum flux density, the part of Qi attributable to direct flux was also computed. Strong linear relationships between the capacity for photosynthetic electron transport per area (Jamax), estimated from in situ measurements of effective quantum yield of photosystem II (PS II), and Qi averaged over the season and over the preceding 3 d were found for all studied species. However, the major determinant of Jamax, the product of electron transport capacity per leaf dry mass (Jmmax) and leaf dry mass per area (MA), was MA rather than Jmmax, which was relatively constant along the light gradient. There was evidence that Jamax is more tightly related to Ts, which characterizes the light climate during foliar development, than to short‐term integrated light, possibly because there is little flexibility in adjustments in MA after the completion of foliar growth. Leaf chlorophyll concentrations and the investment of leaf nitrogen in chlorophyll (Chl/N) were negatively related to Qi– an investment pattern which improves light harvesting in low light. Xanthophyll cycle pool size (VAZ, violaxanthin + antheraxanthin + zeaxanthin) either expressed per unit chlorophyll (VAZ/Chl) or as a fraction of total carotenoids (VAZ/Car) increased with increasing Qi in all species. However, contrary to Jamax, it tended to correlate more strongly with short‐term than with long‐term average integrated light. There were few interspecific differences in Jamax, Chl/N, VAZ/Chl and VAZ/Car when the variability in light level incident to the leaves was accounted for, indicating that the foliage of both shade‐intolerant and ‐tolerant temperate tree species possesses considerable phenotypic flexibility. Collectively these results support the view that rapid adjustment of the xanthophyll cycle pool size provides an important means for acclimation to light fluctuations in a time scale of days, during which the potential for photosynthetic quenching of excitation energy is not likely to change appreciably.

Stoichiometry of foliar carbon constituents varies along light gradients in temperate woody canopies: implications for foliage morphological plasticity.

Foliar morphology and chemical composition were examined along a light gradient in the canopies of five deciduous temperate woody species, ranked according to shade-tolerance as Populus tremula L. < Fraxinus excelsior L. < Tilia cordata Mill. = Corylus avellana L. < Fagus sylvatica L. Foliar carbon was divided between structural (cell-wall polysaccharides, lignin) and nonstructural (proteins, ethanol-soluble carbohydrates, starch) fractions. Foliar morphology of all species was strongly affected by irradiance. Both leaf dry mass per area (M(A)), a product of leaf density and thickness, and leaf dry to fresh mass ratio (D(w)), characterizing the apoplastic leaf fraction, increased with increasing relative irradiance (I(sum), calculated as the weighted mean of fractional penetration of diffuse and direct irradiance). Though the relationships were qualitatively identical among the taxa, more shade-tolerant species generally had lower values of M(A) than shade-intolerant species, and their morphological relationships with irradiance were curvilinear; however, there were no signs of saturation even at the highest irradiances in shade-intolerant species. In all species, lignin concentrations increased and cell-wall polysaccharide concentrations decreased with increasing irradiance. Consequently, biomass investment in structural leaf components appeared to be relatively constant along light gradients. The relationship between irradiance and structural compounds tended to be asymptotic in the more shade-tolerant species, whereas M(A) was linearly correlated with concentrations of structural leaf components, suggesting that similar factors were responsible for the curvature in the morphological and chemical relationships with irradiance. Because lignin increases tissue elastic modulus thereby rendering leaves more resistant to low leaf water potentials, we conclude that changes in stoichiometry of cell wall components were related to foliage acclimation to the gradients of water deficit that develop in the canopy and inherently accompany light gradients. We also conclude that increased lignification decreased leaf expansion growth, and that species differences in lignification were partly responsible for the observed interspecific variability in morphological plasticity. Analysis of structural leaf compounds provided no indication of how shade-intolerant species with low investments in lignin acclimated to gradients of water availability in the canopy. Because shade-intolerant species generally had higher capacities for photosynthesis than shade-tolerant species, we postulated that they should also have a greater ability for osmotic adjustment of leaf water potential with photosynthates. The concentrations of soluble carbohydrates increased with increasing irradiance in all species; however, the osmotic adjustment achieved in this way was similar in all species, except for shade-intolerant F. excelsior, which had a lower potential for osmotic adjustment with carbohydrates than the other taxa. Although we did not determine whether the gradients of stem water potential and leaf water deficits were similar in canopies of different species, we demonstrated that water relations play a central role in determining foliar structure and composition along light gradients in the canopy.

Adjustment of foliage structure and function to a canopy light gradient in two co-existing deciduous trees. Variability in leaf inclination angles in relation to petiole morphology

Foliar inclination angles, petiole morphology and dry matter partitioning between assimilative and support biomass were studied in shade-intolerant Populus tremula L. and shade-tolerant Tilia cordata Mill. along a natural light gradient across the canopy. The leaves of sub-canopy species T. cordata were on average exposed to lower irradiances, and they were also more horizontal with greater blade inclination angles (ϕB, defined as the angle between the leaf fall-line and the horizon; ϕB was positive for the leaves inclined upwards, and negative for the leaves inclined downwards) than those in P. tremula. Seasonal average daily integrated quantum flux density (Q int, mol m–2 day–1) and ϕB were not related in T. cordata, and only a weak negative effect of Q int on ϕB was detected in P. tremula. Nevertheless, when both species were pooled, there was a strong negative relationship between Q int and ϕB, implying that the leaves became progressively vertical with increasing height in the canopy. Interspecific differences in foliage inclination were mainly related to petiole morphology, in particular to petiole length, rather than to contrasting biomass investment patterns between assimilative and support tissues within the leaf. It was suggested that more horizontal leaves, resulting from the species-specific structure of petioles, partly explain the superior performance of shade-tolerant T. cordata in the understory and the sub-canopy.

Nitrogen allocation in response to partial shading of a plant: Possible mechanisms

The significance of photosynthetic and transpiration rates for the perception by plants of light gradients in leaf canopies has been investigated with regard to nitrogen allocation and re‐allocation. A gradient of photon flux density (PFD) over a plant's foliage was simulated by shading one leaf of a pair of primary leaves of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Rentegever). Photosynthetic rate was manipulated independently of PFD and, to some extent, also of transpiration, by subjecting the leaf to different CO2 concentrations. Transpiration rate was changed independently of PFD and photosynthetic rate by subjecting the leaf to different vapour pressure differences (VPD). A reduced partial pressure of CO2 reduced specific leaf mass (SLM) as did a decreased PFD, but did not change leaf N per unit area (NLA) and light saturated rate of photosynthesis (Amax). A reduced VPD caused several effects consistent with the effect of PFD. It decreased NLA and Amax and increased the chlorophyll to N ratio in old and young leaves. Furthermore, it decreased the chlorophyll a to b ratio and inhibited leaf growth in young leaves. The transpiration stream is partitioned among the leaves of a plant according to their transpiration rates. The results suggest that relative rates of import of xylem sap into leaves of a plant play an important role in the perception of partial shading of a plant, a situation normally found in dense vegetations. The possible role of cytokinin influx into leaves as controlled by transpiration rate, is discussed.