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Growth, photosynthetic and physiological responses of Torreya grandis seedlings to varied light environments

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Shading could improve plant growth in Torreya grandis seedling, and 75 % shade is likely the optimum light irradiance level for its growth.

Abstract

Light is a critical factor that affects the survival and early growth of tree seedlings. Torreya grandis, an economically important subtropical plant, is a shade-preferring species; however, the optimum light intensity for the growth of this species was still unclear. To determine the optimum light intensity, we examined the growth, chlorophyll fluorescence, gas exchange, and chloroplast ultrastructure of T. grandis seedlings growing under four levels of shade (i.e., 0, 50, 75, and 90 %). The results showed that T. grandis attained the greatest Pn and biomass when cultivated with 75 % shade. Seedlings grown under 75 % shade exhibited a 155 % increase in the height increment, a 440 % increase in the diameter increment, a 42.2 % increase in biomass, and a 102 % increase in the photosynthetic rate compared with seedlings grown in full sun. Moreover, 75 % shaded plants had the lowest antioxidant enzyme activities, malondialdehyde content and ion leakage. Full sunlight and 50 % shade significantly reduced the growth of T. grandis which was associated with a decrease in the maximal photochemical efficiency, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content and biomass compared with those under 75 % shade. Compared with the 75 % shaded plants, seedlings grown under 90 % shade had a reduced photosynthetic rate, which was accompanied by increased malondialdehyde content, relative electrolyte conductivity and antioxidant enzymes activities, suggesting that seedlings under the 90 % shade had the lower energy utilizing capacity. Higher antioxidant enzyme activities might be an efficient adaptation to protection against oxidative stress under low light conditions. Therefore, our results indicate that 75 % shade is likely the optimum light irradiance level for T. grandis seedling growth.

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Author contribution statement

Designing the work: J.S.W.; running the experiments: H.T., Y.-Y. Hu., W.-W. Yu., L.-L.S.; data analysis and statistics: H.T. and Y.-Y. Hu; article writing and revising: H.T., Y.-Y. Hu., W.-W. Yu., L.-L.S., J.-S.W.

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Fruit Innovation Team Project of Zhejiang Province (2009R50033-7), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LZ12C16001), the Major Project of National Spark Plan of China (2012GA700001), the Launching Funds for Zhejiang A&F University (2013FR063), and the open project funds for forestry discipline in Zhejiang province (KF201312).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Nurturing Station for the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an, Hangzhou, 311300, People’s Republic of China

      Hui Tang, Yuan-Yuan Hu, Wei-Wu Yu, Li-Li Song & Jia-Sheng Wu

    2. School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an, Hangzhou, 311300, People’s Republic of China

      Hui Tang, Yuan-Yuan Hu, Wei-Wu Yu, Li-Li Song & Jia-Sheng Wu

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    1. Hui Tang
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    Correspondence to Jia-Sheng Wu.

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    Communicated by W. Bilger.

    H. Tang and Y.-Y. Hu contribute equally to this study.

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    Tang, H., Hu, YY., Yu, WW. et al. Growth, photosynthetic and physiological responses of Torreya grandis seedlings to varied light environments. Trees 29, 1011–1022 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1180-9

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