Abstract
We examined the photosynthetic acclimation of three tropical species of Miconia to canopy openings in a Costa Rican rainforest. The response of photosynthesis to canopy opening was very similar in Miconia affinis, M. gracilis, and M. nervosa, despite differences in growth form (trees and shrubs) and local distributions of plants (understory and gap). Four months after the canopy was opened by a treefall, photosynthetic capacity in all three species had approximately doubled from closed canopy levels. There were no obvious signs of high light damage after treefall but acclimation to the gap environment was not immediate. Two weeks after treefall, Amax, stomatal conductance, apprarent quantum efficiency, and dark respiration rates had not changed significantly from understory values. The production of new leaves appears to be an important component of light acclimation in these species. The only variables to differ significantly among species were stomatal conductance at Amax and the light level at which assimilation was saturated. M. affinis had a higher stomatal conductance which may reduce its water use efficiency in gap environments. Photosynthesis in the more shade-tolerant M. gracilis saturated at lower light levels than in the other two species. Individual plant light environments were assessed after treefall with canopy photography but they explained only a small fraction of plant variation in most measures of photosynthesis and growth. In conclusion, we speculate that species differences in local distribution and in light requirements for reproduction may be more strongly related to species differences in carbon allocation than in carbon assimilation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Augsburger CK (1984) Light requirements of neotropical tree seedlings: a comparative study of growth and survival. J Ecol 72:777–795
Bazzaz FA (1979) The physiological ecology of plant succession. Ann Rev Ecol Sys 10:351–371
Bazzaz FA (1984) Dynamics of wet tropical forests and their species strategies. In: Medina E, Mooney HA, Vásquez-Yanes C (eds) Physiological ecology of plants the wet tropics. Dr W Junk, The Hague, pp 233–243
Bazzaz FA, Pickett STA (1980) Physiological ecology of tropical succession: a comparative review. Ann Rev Ecol Sys 11:287–310
Brokaw NVL (1985) Gap-phase regeneration in a tropical forest. Ecology 66:682–687
Caemmerer S von, Farquhar GD (1981) Some relationships between the biochemistry of photosynthesis and the gas exchange of leaves. Planta 153:376–387
Chazdon RL (1986) The costs of leaf support in understory palms: economy vs safety. Am Nat 127:9–30
Chazdon RL, Fetcher N (1984) Photosynthetic light environments in a lowland tropical rainforest of Costa Rica. J Ecol 72:553–564
Chazdon RL, Field CB (1987) Determinants of photosynthetic capacity in six rainforest Piper species. Oecologia 73:222–230
Chazdon RL, Pearcy RW (1986) Photosynthetic responses to light variation in rainforest species II. Carbon gain and photosynthetic efficiency during lightflecks. Oecologia 69:524–531
Denslow JS (1980) Gap partitioning among tropical rainforest trees. Biotropical 12 [Suppl]:47–55
Denslow JS (1987) Tropical rainforest gaps and tree species diversity. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 18:431–451
Denslow JS, Newell E, Ellison A (1991) The effect of understory palms and cyclanths on the growth and survival of Inga seedlings. Biotropica 23:225–234
Denslow JS, Schultz JC, Vitousek PM, Strain BR (1990) Growth responses of tropical shrubs to treefall gap environments. Ecology 71:165–179
Fetcher N, Oberbauer SF, Rojas G, Strain BR (1987) Efectos del régimen de luz sobre la fotosíntesis y el crecimiento en plántulas de árboles de un bosque lluvioso tropical de Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropical 35 S:97–110
Fetcher N, Strain BR, Oberbauer SF (1985) Vegetation effects on microclimate in lowland tropical forest in Costa Rica. Int J Biometerol 29:145–155
Fetcher N, Strain BR, Oberbauer SF (1983) Effects of light regime on the growth, leaf morphology and water relations of seedlings of two species of tropical trees. Oecologia 58:314–319
Hartshorn GS (1980) Neotropical forest dynamics. Biotropica 12 [Suppl]:23–30
Holdridge LR, Gremke WC, Hatheway WH, Liang T, Tosi J Jr (1971) Forest environments in tropical life zones: a pilot study. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Langenheim JH, Osmond CB, Brooks A, Ferrar PJ (1984) Photosynthetic responses to light in seedlings of selected Amazonian and Australian rainforest tree species. Oecologia 63:215–224
Oberbauer SF, Strain BR (1985) Effects of light regime on the growth and physiology of Pentaclethra macroloba (Mimosaeae) in Costa Rica. J Trop Ecol 1:303–320
Pearcy RW (1987) Photosynthetic gas exchange responses of Australian tropical forest trees in canopy, gap and understory. Funct Ecol 1:169–178
Pearcy RW, Calkin H (1983) Carbon dioxide exchange of C3 and C4 tree species in the understory of a Hawaiian forest. Oecologia 58:26–32
Popma J, Bongers F (1988) The effect of canopy gaps on growth and morphology of seedlings of rain-forest species. Oecologia 75:625–632
Rich PM (1990) Characterizing plant canopies with hemispherical photographs. Remote Sensing Rev 5:13–29
Rich PM, Clark DB, Clark DA, Oberbauer SF (1993) Long-term study of solar radiation regimes in a tropical wet forest using quantum sensors and hemispherical photography. Agr For Meteorol
Sanford RL Jr, Braker HE, Hartshorn GS (1986) Canopy openings in a primary neotropical lowland forest. J Trop Ecol 2:277–282
Sims DA, Pearcy RW (1989) Photosynthetic characteristics of a tropical understory herb, Alocasia macrorrhiza, and a related crop species, Colocasia esculenta grown in contrasting light enviroments. Oecologia 79:53–59
Sims DA, Pearcy RW (1991) Photosynthesis and respiration in Alocasia macrorrhiza following transfers to high and low light. Oecologia 86:447–453
Sollins P, Sancho F, Mata R, Sanford RL (1993) Soils and soil process research. In: McDade L, Bawa K, Hespenheide H, Hartshorn G (eds) La Selva: Ecology and natural history of a neotropical rainforest, U Chicago Press
Strauss-Debenedetti S, Bazzaz FA (1991) Plasticity and acclimation to light in tropical Moraceae of different successional positions. Oecologia 87:377–387
Uhl C, Clark K, Dezzeo N, Maquirino P (1988) Vegetation dynamics in Amazonian treefall gaps. Ecology 69:751–763
Vásquez-Yanes C, Orozco-Segovia A (1984) Ecophysiology of seed germination in the tropical humid forests of the world: a review. In: Medina E, Mooney HA, Vásquez-Yanes C (eds) Physiological ecology of plants of the wet tropics, Dr W Junk, The Hague, pp 37–50
Vitousek PM, Denslow JS (1986) Nitrogen and phosphorus availability in treefall gaps of a lowland tropical rainforest. J Ecol 74:1167–1178
Wallace LL, Dunn EL (1980) Comparative photosynthesis of three gap phase successional tree species. Oecologia 45:331–340
Walters MB, Field CB (1987) Photosynthetic light acclimation in two rainforest Piper species with different ecological amplitudes. Oecologia 72:449–456
Whitmore TC (1978) Gaps of the forest canopy. In: Tomlinson PB, Zimmermann MH (eds) Tropical trees as living systems, Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, pp 639–655
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Newell, E.A., McDonald, E.P., Strain, B.R. et al. Photosynthetic responses of Miconia species to canopy openings in a lowland tropical rainforest. Oecologia 94, 49–56 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317300
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317300