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Canopy light heterogeneity drives leaf anatomical, eco-physiological, and photosynthetic changes in olive trees grown in a high-density plantation

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Abstract

In the field, leaves may face very different light intensities within the tree canopy. Leaves usually respond with light-induced morphological and photosynthetic changes, in a phenomenon known as phenotypic plasticity. Canopy light distribution, leaf anatomy, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, and pigment composition were investigated in an olive (Olea europaea, cvs. Arbequina and Arbosana) orchard planted with a high-density system (1,250 trees ha−1). Sampling was made from three canopy zones: a lower canopy (<1 m), a central one (1–2 m), and an upper one (>2 m). Light interception decreased significantly in the lower canopy when compared to the central and top ones. Leaf angle increased and photosynthetic rates and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) decreased significantly and progressively from the upper canopy to the central and the lower canopies. The largest leaf areas were found in the lower canopy, especially in the cultivar Arbequina. The palisade and spongy parenchyma were reduced in thickness in the lower canopy when compared to the upper one, in the former due to a decrease in the number of cell layers from three to two (clearly distinguishable in the light and fluorescence microscopy images). In both cultivars, the concentration of violaxanthin-cycle pigments and β-carotene was higher in the upper than in the lower canopy. Furthermore, the de-epoxidized forms zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin increased significantly in those leaves from the upper canopy, in parallel to the NPQ increases. In conclusion, olive leaves react with morphological and photosynthetic changes to within-crown light gradients. These results strengthen the idea of olive trees as “modular organisms” that adjust the modules morphology and physiology in response to light intensity.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) Project AP/040397/11 and the Aragón Government (A03 Research Group).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de l’Olivier, BP 208, Cité Mahrajène, 1082, Tunis, Tunisia

    Ajmi Larbi & Monji Msallem

  2. Department of Plant Nutrition, Aula Dei Experimental Station, CSIC, PO Box 13034, 50080, Zaragoza, Spain

    Saúl Vázquez, Hamdi El-Jendoubi, Javier Abadía, Anunciación Abadía & Fermín Morales

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  1. Ajmi Larbi
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  2. Saúl Vázquez
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  3. Hamdi El-Jendoubi
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Correspondence to Fermín Morales.

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Larbi, A., Vázquez, S., El-Jendoubi, H. et al. Canopy light heterogeneity drives leaf anatomical, eco-physiological, and photosynthetic changes in olive trees grown in a high-density plantation. Photosynth Res 123, 141–155 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-014-0052-2

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