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Photosynthetic capacity of tropical montane tree species in relation to leaf nutrients, successional strategy and growth temperature

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Photosynthetic capacity of tree leaves is typically positively related to nutrient content and little affected by changes in growth temperature. These relationships are, however, often poorly supported for tropical trees, for which interspecific differences may be more strongly controlled by within-leaf nutrient allocation than by absolute leaf nutrient content, and little is known regarding photosynthetic acclimation to temperature. To explore the influence of leaf nutrient status, successional strategy and growth temperature on the photosynthetic capacity of tropical trees, we collected data on photosynthetic, chemical and morphological leaf traits of ten tree species in Rwanda. Seven species were studied in a forest plantation at mid-altitude (~1,700 m), whereas six species were studied in a cooler montane rainforest at higher altitude (~2,500 m). Three species were common to both sites, and, in the montane rainforest, three pioneer species and three climax species were investigated. Across species, interspecific variation in photosynthetic capacity was not related to leaf nutrient content. Instead, this variation was related to differences in within-leaf nitrogen allocation, with a tradeoff between investments into compounds related to photosynthetic capacity (higher in pioneer species) versus light-harvesting compounds (higher in climax species). Photosynthetic capacity was significantly lower at the warmer site at 1,700 m altitude. We conclude that (1) within-leaf nutrient allocation is more important than leaf nutrient content per se in controlling interspecific variation in photosynthetic capacity among tree species in tropical Rwanda, and that (2) tropical montane rainforest species exhibit decreased photosynthetic capacity when grown in a warmer environment.

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Acknowledgments

The first author was supported by a scholarship within the Global university initiative at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the last author was supported by Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse and the Strategic Research Area “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate” (BECC; http://www.cec.lu.se/research/becc). We are grateful to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) support to infrastructure and to Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) Ruhande and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) which authorized data collection in the Ruhande Arboretum and Nyungwe National Park, respectively. We are also grateful for comments on a draft of this manuscript by Angelica Vårhammar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 461, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mirindi Eric Dusenge, Göran Wallin, Johanna Gårdesten, Lisa Adolfsson & Johan Uddling

  2. Department of Biology, University of Rwanda, University Avenue, PO Box 56, Huye, Rwanda

    Mirindi Eric Dusenge, Felix Niyonzima & Donat Nsabimana

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  1. Mirindi Eric Dusenge
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  2. Göran Wallin
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  3. Johanna Gårdesten
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  6. Donat Nsabimana
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Correspondence to Johan Uddling.

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Communicated by Gerardo Avalos.

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Dusenge, M.E., Wallin, G., Gårdesten, J. et al. Photosynthetic capacity of tropical montane tree species in relation to leaf nutrients, successional strategy and growth temperature. Oecologia 177, 1183–1194 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3260-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3260-3

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