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Differences in the photosynthetic efficiency and photorespiration of co-occurring Euphorbiaceae liana and tree in a Chinese savanna

  • Original papers
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Photosynthetica

Abstract

Lianas perform better than co-occurring trees in secondary forests or disturbed areas. Lianas and trees differ strikingly in water use strategy, which may result in a significant difference in photosynthetic light use between both growth forms. However, the difference in the photosynthetic efficiency and light energy dissipation between these two growth forms is poorly understood. Moreover, photorespiration is an important mechanism of photoprotection under conditions of high light. In this study, we used Bridelia stipularis (Linn.) Bl. (liana) and Strophioblachia fimbricalyx Boerl. (tree) in order to measure the response curves of the gas exchange and photosynthetic electron flow to the incident light gradients and intercellular CO2 concentration, as well as the hydraulic conductivity. We tested whether the photochemical efficiency and photorespiration differed between both growth forms. Our results clearly demonstrated that B. stipularis possessed a significantly higher stem and leaf specific hydraulic conductivity, total electron flow, and maximum rate of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate regeneration compared to the sympatric tree S. fimbricalyx. Correspondingly, B. stipularis exhibited a significantly higher photochemical quenching coefficient and electron flow to photorespiration relative to S. fimbricalyx under saturating light levels. We suggested that photorespiration might play an important role in photoprotection for both species under high light, but particularly for B. stipularis. These findings could enrich our knowledge of the superior photosynthetic and growth performance of lianas over the co-occurring trees.

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Abbreviations

AS :

sapwood area

AL :

total leaf area

Chl:

chlorophyll

C i :

intercellular CO2 concentration

gs :

stomatal conductance

HV:

the Huber value

Jc :

electron flow for RuBP carboxylation

Jmax :

maximum rate of RuBP regeneration

Jo :

electron flow for RuBP oxygenation

JT :

total electron transport rate

Kh :

water flow rate through the segment

KL :

leaf specific hydraulic conductivity

Ks :

sapwood specific hydraulic conductivity

LSP:

light saturation point

P N :

net CO2 assimilation rate

qP:

photochemical quenching coefficient

R D :

dark respiration

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

RuBP:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate

Vcmax :

maximum rate of RuBP carboxylation

ϕPSII :

actual photochemical efficiency of PSII

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China

    S.-B. Zhang & J.-L. Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    S.-B. Zhang

  3. State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Plant Ecophysiology and Evolution Group and College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530004, China

    K.-F. Cao

Authors
  1. S.-B. Zhang
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  2. J.-L. Zhang
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  3. K.-F. Cao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K.-F. Cao.

Additional information

Acknowledgments: This study was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 31470470, 31570406) and the Joint Foundation of the Natural Science of China and the Natural Science of the Yunnan Province (No. U1202234). We are very grateful to the Yuanjiang Research Station for Savanna Ecosystems, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences for providing the meteorological data.

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Zhang, SB., Zhang, JL. & Cao, KF. Differences in the photosynthetic efficiency and photorespiration of co-occurring Euphorbiaceae liana and tree in a Chinese savanna. Photosynthetica 54, 438–445 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-016-0188-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-016-0188-8

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