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Niinemets Ü. Uncovering the hidden facets of drought stress: secondary metabolites make the difference. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 36:129-32. [PMID: 26687175 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpv128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ülo Niinemets
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51014 Tartu, Estonia Estonian Academy of Sciences, Kohtu 6, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia
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102
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Sperlich D, Barbeta A, Ogaya R, Sabaté S, Peñuelas J. Balance between carbon gain and loss under long-term drought: impacts on foliar respiration and photosynthesis in Quercus ilex L. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2016; 67:821-33. [PMID: 26552882 PMCID: PMC4737074 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erv492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial carbon exchange is a key process of the global carbon cycle consisting of a delicate balance between photosynthetic carbon uptake and respiratory release. We have, however, a limited understanding how long-term decreases in precipitation induced by climate change affect the boundaries and mechanisms of photosynthesis and respiration. We examined the seasonality of photosynthetic and respiratory traits and evaluated the adaptive mechanism of the foliar carbon balance of Quercus ilex L. experiencing a long-term rainfall-exclusion experiment. Day respiration (Rd) but not night respiration (Rn) was generally higher in the drought treatment leading to an increased Rd/Rn ratio. The limitation of mesophyll conductance (gm) on photosynthesis was generally stronger than stomatal limitation (gs) in the drought treatment, reflected in a lower gm/gs ratio. The peak photosynthetic activity in the drought treatment occurred in an atypical favourable summer in parallel with lower Rd/Rn and higher gm/gs ratios. The plant carbon balance was thus strongly improved through: (i) higher photosynthetic rates induced by gm; and (ii) decreased carbon losses mediated by Rd. Interestingly, photosynthetic potentials (Vc,max, Jmax, and TPU) were not affected by the drought treatment, suggesting a dampening effect on the biochemical level in the long term. In summary, the trees experiencing a 14-year-long drought treatment adapted through higher plasticity in photosynthetic and respiratory traits, so that eventually the atypical favourable growth period was exploited more efficiently.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Sperlich
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - A Barbeta
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - R Ogaya
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - S Sabaté
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - J Peñuelas
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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103
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Fajardo A, Siefert A. Phenological variation of leaf functional traits within species. Oecologia 2016; 180:951-9. [PMID: 26796408 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3545-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
A basic assumption of the trait-based approach in plant ecology is that differences in functional trait values are greater between species than within species. We questioned this assumption by assessing (1) the relative extent of inter- and intraspecific leaf trait variation throughout a complete growing season (phenological variation) in a group of deciduous and evergreen woody species, and (2) whether species rankings based on leaf traits were maintained across the growing season. We analysed leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf nutrient concentrations (C, N, P), including the C:N and N:P ratios. Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) due to phenology was significantly greater than interspecific variation for leaf N concentration on a mass basis (Nm; 68.90 %) and for the leaf C:N ratio (60.60 %), whereas interspecific variation was significantly higher than ITV for LMA (62.30 %) and for leaf C concentration on a mass (Cm) and area (Ca) basis (Cm 70.40 %; Ca 65.30 %). ITV was particularly low for LMA (<20 %). Species rankings were highly modified by phenology for a number of leaf traits (Pm, N:P ratio) but were relatively well conserved throughout the growing season for others (LMA, Nm). Patterns of ITV across the growing season differed significantly between deciduous and evergreen species for all traits except leaf P but did not vary between native and exotic species. Overall, our results show that intraspecific phenological variation in leaf traits may be similar to or greater than interspecific variation and that temporal patterns of ITV vary considerably among traits and species, especially for leaf nutrient concentrations, factors which can potentially affect quantitative interspecific relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Fajardo
- Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP) Conicyt-Regional R10C1003, Universidad Austral de Chile, Camino Baguales s/n, 5951601, Coyhaique, Chile.
| | - Andrew Siefert
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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104
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Niinemets Ü. Within-Canopy Variations in Functional Leaf Traits: Structural, Chemical and Ecological Controls and Diversity of Responses. CANOPY PHOTOSYNTHESIS: FROM BASICS TO APPLICATIONS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-7291-4_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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105
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Heberling JM, Kichey T, Decocq G, Fridley JD. Plant functional shifts in the invaded range: a test with reciprocal forest invaders of Europe and North America. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Mason Heberling
- Department of Biology Syracuse University 107 College Place Syracuse New York13244 USA
| | - Thomas Kichey
- Unité Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés Université de Picardie Jules Verne 1 rue des Louvels F‐80037 Amiens Cedex France
| | - Guillaume Decocq
- Unité Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés Université de Picardie Jules Verne 1 rue des Louvels F‐80037 Amiens Cedex France
| | - Jason D. Fridley
- Department of Biology Syracuse University 107 College Place Syracuse New York13244 USA
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106
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Mason CM, Donovan LA. Evolution of the leaf economics spectrum in herbs: Evidence from environmental divergences in leaf physiology acrossHelianthus(Asteraceae). Evolution 2015; 69:2705-20. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2015] [Revised: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/23/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chase M. Mason
- Department of Plant Biology; University of Georgia; Athens Georgia 30602
| | - Lisa A. Donovan
- Department of Plant Biology; University of Georgia; Athens Georgia 30602
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107
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Laughlin DC, Messier J. Fitness of multidimensional phenotypes in dynamic adaptive landscapes. Trends Ecol Evol 2015; 30:487-96. [PMID: 26122484 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Revised: 05/28/2015] [Accepted: 06/04/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic traits influence species distributions, but ecology lacks established links between multidimensional phenotypes and fitness for predicting species responses to environmental change. The common focus on single traits rather than multiple trait combinations limits our understanding of their adaptive value, and intraspecific trait covariation has been neglected in ecology despite its importance in evolutionary theory and its likely impact on species distributions. Here, we extend the adaptive landscape framework to ecological sorting of multidimensional phenotypes across environments and discuss how two analytical approaches can be used to quantify fitness as a function of the interaction between the phenotype and the environment. We encourage ecologists to consider how phenotypic integration will constrain species responses to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel C Laughlin
- Environmental Research Institute and School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand.
| | - Julie Messier
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 1041 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
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108
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Blonder B, Vasseur F, Violle C, Shipley B, Enquist BJ, Vile D. Testing models for the leaf economics spectrum with leaf and whole-plant traits in Arabidopsis thaliana. AOB PLANTS 2015; 7:plv049. [PMID: 25957316 PMCID: PMC4481546 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plv049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2014] [Accepted: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes strong relationships between multiple functional leaf traits that determine resource fluxes in vascular plants. Five models have been proposed to explain these patterns: two based on patterns of structural allocation, two on venation networks and one on resource allocation to cell walls and cell contents. Here we test these models using data for leaf and whole-plant functional traits. We use structural equation modelling applied to multiple ecotypes, recombinant inbred lines, near isogenic lines and vascular patterning mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana that express LES trait variation. We show that a wide variation in multiple functional traits recapitulates the LES at the whole-plant scale. The Wright et al. (2004) model and the Blonder et al. (2013) venation network model cannot be rejected by data, while two simple models and the Shipley et al. (2006) allocation model are rejected. Venation networks remain a key hypothesis for the origin of the LES, but simpler explanations also cannot be ruled out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Blonder
- Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - François Vasseur
- Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes sous Stress Environnementaux (LEPSE), INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34060 Montpellier, France
| | - Cyrille Violle
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS, UMR5175, F-34000 Montpellier, France
| | - Bill Shipley
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke (Québec), Canada J1K 2R1
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, PO Box 210088, 1041 E Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | - Denis Vile
- Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes sous Stress Environnementaux (LEPSE), INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, F-34060 Montpellier, France
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109
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Sperlich D, Chang CT, Peñuelas J, Gracia C, Sabaté S. Seasonal variability of foliar photosynthetic and morphological traits and drought impacts in a Mediterranean mixed forest. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 35:501-20. [PMID: 25836361 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpv017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2014] [Accepted: 01/29/2015] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The Mediterranean region is a hot spot of climate change vulnerable to increased droughts and heat waves. Scaling carbon fluxes from leaf to landscape levels is particularly challenging under drought conditions. We aimed to improve the mechanistic understanding of the seasonal acclimation of photosynthesis and morphology in sunlit and shaded leaves of four Mediterranean trees (Quercus ilex L., Pinus halepensis Mill., Arbutus unedo L. and Quercus pubescens Willd.) under natural conditions. Vc,max and Jmax were not constant, and mesophyll conductance was not infinite, as assumed in most terrestrial biosphere models, but varied significantly between seasons, tree species and leaf position. Favourable conditions in winter led to photosynthetic recovery and growth in the evergreens. Under moderate drought, adjustments in the photo/biochemistry and stomatal/mesophyllic diffusion behaviour effectively protected the photosynthetic machineries. Severe drought, however, induced early leaf senescence mostly in A. unedo and Q. pubescens, and significantly increased leaf mass per area in Q. ilex and P. halepensis. Shaded leaves had lower photosynthetic potentials but cushioned negative effects during stress periods. Species-specificity, seasonal variations and leaf position are key factors to explain vegetation responses to abiotic stress and hold great potential to reduce uncertainties in terrestrial biosphere models especially under drought conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Sperlich
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - C T Chang
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - J Peñuelas
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain CSIC, global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - C Gracia
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - S Sabaté
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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110
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Laanisto L, Niinemets Ü. Polytolerance to abiotic stresses: how universal is the shade-drought tolerance trade-off in woody species? GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY : A JOURNAL OF MACROECOLOGY 2015; 24:571-580. [PMID: 29367836 PMCID: PMC5777592 DOI: 10.1111/geb.12288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
AIMS According to traditional ecophysiological theories stress tolerance of plants is predominately determined by universal physiochemical constraints. Plant acclimation to environmental stress therefore compromises plant performance under a different stress, hindering successful toleration of several abiotic stress factors simultaneously. Yet, recent studies have shown that these trade-offs are less exclusive than postulated so far, leaving more wiggle room for gaining polytolerance through adaptations We tested whether the polytolerance to shade and drought depends on cold and waterlogging tolerances - hypothesizing that polytolerance patterns in different species groups (angiosperms vs. gymnosperms; deciduous vs. evergreen; species originating from North America, Europe and East Asia) depend on the length of the vegetation period and species's dormancy through limiting the duration of favourable growing season. LOCATION Northern hemisphere. METHODS Our study analyzed four main abiotic stress factors - shade, drought, cold and waterlogging stress - for 806 Northern hemisphere woody species using cross-calibrated tolerance rankings. The importance of trade-offs among species ecological potentials was evaluated using the species-specific estimates of polytolerance to chosen factors. RESULTS We found that both cold and waterlogging tolerance are negatively related to species' capabilities of simultaneously tolerating low light and water conditions. While this pattern was different in angiosperms and gymnosperms, species region of origin and leaf type had no effect on this relationship. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that adaptation to different abiotic stress factors in woody plants is highly complex. Vegetation period length and dormancy are the key factors explaining why woody plants are less capable of tolerating both shade and drought in habitats where vegetation period is relatively short and water table high. While dormancy enables angiosperms to more successfully face additional stress factors besides shade and drought, gymnosperms have lower polytolerance, but are better tolerators of shade and drought when other environmental factors are favorable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Laanisto
- Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ülo Niinemets
- Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
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111
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Hu YK, Pan X, Liu GF, Li WB, Dai WH, Tang SL, Zhang YL, Xiao T, Chen LY, Xiong W, Zhou MY, Song YB, Dong M. Novel evidence for within-species leaf economics spectrum at multiple spatial scales. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2015; 6:901. [PMID: 26579151 PMCID: PMC4620397 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Leaf economics spectrum (LES), characterizing covariation among a suite of leaf traits relevant to carbon and nutrient economics, has been examined largely among species but hardly within species. In addition, very little attempt has been made to examine whether the existence of LES depends on spatial scales. To address these questions, we quantified the variation and covariation of four leaf economic traits (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus contents) in a cosmopolitan wetland species (Phragmites australis) at three spatial (inter-regional, regional, and site) scales across most of the species range in China. The species expressed large intraspecific variation in the leaf economic traits at all of the three spatial scales. It also showed strong covariation among the four leaf economic traits across the species range. The coordination among leaf economic traits resulted in LES at all three scales and the environmental variables determining variation in leaf economic traits were different among the spatial scales. Our results provide novel evidence for within-species LES at multiple spatial scales, indicating that resource trade-off could also constrain intraspecific trait variation mainly driven by climatic and/or edaphic differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Kun Hu
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Xu Pan
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
- Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of ForestryBeijing, China
| | - Guo-Fang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Wen-Bing Li
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Wen-Hong Dai
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Shuang-Li Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Ya-Lin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
| | - Tao Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Ling-Yun Chen
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Wei Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Meng-Yao Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Yao-Bin Song
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Yao-Bin Song, ; Ming Dong,
| | - Ming Dong
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China
- *Correspondence: Yao-Bin Song, ; Ming Dong,
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112
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Rajsnerová P, Klem K, Holub P, Novotná K, Večeřová K, Kozáčiková M, Rivas-Ubach A, Sardans J, Marek MV, Peñuelas J, Urban O. Morphological, biochemical and physiological traits of upper and lower canopy leaves of European beech tend to converge with increasing altitude. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 35:47-60. [PMID: 25576757 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpu104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The present work has explored for the first time acclimation of upper versus lower canopy leaves along an altitudinal gradient. We tested the hypothesis that restrictive climatic conditions associated with high altitudes reduce within-canopy variations of leaf traits. The investigated beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest is located on the southern slope of the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains (Czech Republic). All measurements were taken on leaves from upper and lower parts of the canopy of mature trees (>85 years old) growing at low (400 m above sea level, a.s.l.), middle (720 m a.s.l.) and high (1100 m a.s.l.) altitudes. Compared with trees at higher altitudes, those growing at low altitudes had lower stomatal conductance, slightly lower CO(2) assimilation rate (A(max)) and leaf mass per area (LMA), and higher photochemical reflectance index, water-use efficiency and Rubisco content. Given similar stand densities at all altitudes, the different growth conditions result in a more open canopy and higher penetration of light into lower canopy with increasing altitude. Even though strong vertical gradients in light intensity occurred across the canopy at all altitudes, lower canopy leaves at high altitudes tended to acquire the same morphological, biochemical and physiological traits as did upper leaves. While elevation had no significant effect on nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) contents per unit leaf area, LMA, or total content of chlorophylls and epidermal flavonoids in upper leaves, these increased significantly in lower leaves at higher altitudes. The increases in N content of lower leaves were coupled with similar changes in A(max). Moreover, a high N content coincided with high Rubisco concentrations in lower but not in upper canopy leaves. Our results show that the limiting role of light in lower parts of the canopy is reduced at high altitudes. A great capacity of trees to adjust the entire canopy is thus demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Rajsnerová
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Klem
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Holub
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Novotná
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kristýna Večeřová
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Kozáčiková
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Albert Rivas-Ubach
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Michal V Marek
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-CSIC-UAB, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain CREAF, 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Otmar Urban
- Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic
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