Photosynthetic acclimation to variability in the light environment of early and late successional plants

Abstract

Fourteen plant species from early-, mid-, and late-successional habitats were grown for a period of 25 to 50 days in each of two light environments, i.e. full sunlight and in deep shade. The rate of photosynthesis for newly formed leaves was measured as a function of light intensity for plants from each light environment. Photosynthetic flexibility, measured as the difference in response between sun- and shade-grown plants, was determined for each of 5 parameters including dark respiration, quantum yield, light compensation, half-saturating irradiance for photosynthesis, and the photosynthetic rate at 1,400 μE m s. We found photosynthetic flexibility to be high for early successional annuals, intermediate for midsuccessional species, and low for late successional species.

Shade responses of five grasses native to southwestern U.S. <i>Pinus ponderosa</i> forests

“…In contrast, B. tricholepis and M. montana generally had stronger relationships between A area and PPFD. This result is consistent with numerous studies documenting that species successful in shaded conditions experience a lower decrease in photosynthetic capacity per leaf area under shade than species that are most successful in sunny enviroments (Pons 1977;Bazzaz and Carlson 1982;Ward and Woolhouse 1986;Smith and Martin 1987;Sims and Pearcy 1989). This trend has also been shown for A area (Ashton and Berlyn 1992;Holmes and Cowling 1993;Walters et al 1993), and A mass (Kuiper and Smid 1985;Walters et al 1993) for shade species.…”

Growth responses and accumulation of soluble sugars in Inga marginata Wild. (Fabaceae) subjected to flooding under contrasting light conditions

“…To understand the process of succession and natural regeneration in riparian forests, it is necessary to understand the existing light regimes within the forest, the adaptation of different species to these regimes, the processes related to the temporal succession of these species (Bazzaz and Carlson, 1982) and their response to flooding periods with different frequencies over time (Budke et al, 2010). Plants of Inga marginata that were acclimatized to contrasting light intensities did not show mortality when subjected to five or 15 days of partial flooding, which demonstrates that the species tolerates well soil waterlogging at different periods.…”

Comparação da morfologia foliar de espécies arbóreas de três estádios sucessionais distintos de floresta ombrófila densa (Floresta Atlântica) no Sul do Brasil

“…Os poucos estudos que relacionam a morfologia foliar com diferentes estádios sucessionais em florestas tropicais mostram que as espécies pioneiras são mais plásticas do que as espécies tardias (Straus-Debenedetti & Berlyn 1994, Rôças et al 1997, sendo mais capazes de lidar com as variações extremas de luz, próprias dos estádios iniciais da sucessão (Bazzaz & Carlson 1982).…”