Summary
Canopy development and photosynthetic rate were measured at monthly intervals over a period of one year in 19 shrub and subshrub species of the Mojave and upper Sonoran Deserts. Thirteen of these species realized a substantial fraction of their total net carbon assimilation via twig photosynthesis. The twig contribution to whole plant yearly carbon gain reached a maximum of 83% in species such as Thamnosma montana, Salizaria mexicana, and Baccharis brachyphylla. This large contribution by twigs was due to both low levels of leaf production and the greater longevity of twig tissues. In some other species, however, leaf and twig organs had similar lifespans. During the year of this study (which had an unusually warm, mild winter), no species showed a pattern of winter deciduousness. The reduction in total photosynthetic area between maximal spring canopy development and mid August summer dormancy ranged from 32 to 94%. Some herbaceous perennial species died back to the ground, but none of the woody shrubs were totally without green canopy area at any time of the year. No species studied were capable of high rates of photosynthesis at low plant water potentials in July and August, but, in those species which maintained a substantial canopy area through the drought period, previously stressed tissues showed substantial recovery after fall rains. Photosynthetic rate was significantly correlated with both plant water potential and tissue nitrogen content over the entire year, but only weakly so. This is due in part to the winter months when plant water potentials and tissue nitrogen contents were high, but photosynthetic rates were often low.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams MS, Strain BR (1969) Seasonal photosynthetic rates in stems of Cercidium floridum Benth. Photosynthetica 3:55–62
Adams MS, Strain BR, Ting IP (1967) Photosynthesis in chlorophyllus stem tissues and leaves of Cercidium floridum: Accumulation and distribution of 14C from 14CO2. Plant Phys 42:1797–1799
Brayman AA, Schaedle M (1982) Photosynthetic and respiratory rates of developing Populus tremuloides internodes. Plant Phys 69:911–915
Cannon WA (1908) The topography of the chlorophyll apparatus in desert plants. Pub Carnegie Inst Washington, no 98
Chew RM, Chew AE (1965) The primary productivity of a desert-shrub (Larrea tridentata) community. Ecol Mon 33:355–375
Coe JM, Mclaughlin SB (1980) Winter season corticular photosynthesis in Cornus florida, Acer rubrum, Quercus alba, and Liriodendron tulipifera. For Sci 26:561–566
Comstock J, Ehleringer J (1984) Photosynthetic responses to slowly decreasing leaf water potentials in Encelia frutescens. Oecologia (Berlin) 61:241–248
Comstock J, Ehleringer J (1986) Canopy dynamics and carbon gain in response to soil water availability in Encelia frutescens Gray, a drought-deciduous shrub. Oecologia (Berlin) 68:271–278
Comstock J, Ehleringer J (1988) Contrasting photosynthetic behavior in leaves and twigs of Hymenoclea salsola a green-twigged warm desert shrub. Am J Bot (in press)
De Puit EJ, Caldwell MM (1975) Stem and leaf gas exchange of two arid land shrubs. Am J Bot 62:954–961
Ehleringer J, Mooney H (1983) Photosynthesis and productivity of desert and Mediterranean-climate plants. In: Lange OL, Nobel PS, Osmond CB, Ziegler H (eds) Encyclopedia of plant physiology, New Series, vol 12D. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York
Foote KC, Schaedle M (1978) The contribution of aspen bark to the energy balence of the stem. For Sci 24:369–573
Gibson A (1983) Anatomy of photosynthetic old stems of nonsucculent dicotyledons from North American deserts. Bot Gaz 144:347–362
Keller T (1973) CO2 exchange of bark of deciduous species in winter. Photosynthetica 7:320–324
MacMahon JA, Schimpf DJ (1981) Water as a factor in the biology of North American desert plants. In: Evans DD, Thames JL (eds) Water in Desert Ecosystems. Dowden Hutchinson Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Munz PA (1968) A California Flora. Univ California Press, Los Angeles
Nedoff JA, Ting IP, Lord EM (1985) Structure and function of the green stem tissue in Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). Am J Bot 72:143–151
Orshan G (1954) Surface reduction and its significance as a hydroecological factor. J Ecol 42:442–444
Orshan G, Diskin S (1968) Seasonal changes in productivity under desert conditions. In: Eckardt FE (ed) Functioning of terrestrial ecosystems at the primary production level. UNESCO, Paris
Parker J (1978) Seasonal variation in photosynthesis in black oak twigs. Photosynthetica 12:423–427
Schaedle M (1975) Tree photosynthesis. Ann Rev Plant Phys 26:101–105
Shreve F, Wiggins IL (1964) Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran desert. Stanford University Press, Stanford, p 840
Szarek SR, Woodhouse RM (1978) The daily course of photosynthesis for Acacia greggii and Cercidium floridum. Oecologia (Berlin) 35:221–229
Wallace A, Romney EM (1972) Radioecology and ecophysiology of desert plants at the Nevada Test Site. USAEC Report TID-25954
Weibe HH, Al-Saadi HA, Kimball SL (1974) Photosynthesis in the anomalous secondary wood of atriplex confertifolia stems. Am J Bot 61:444–448
Whittaker RH, Niering WA (1975) Vegetation of the Santa Catalina mountains, Arizona. V. Biomass, production, and diversity along the elevation gradient. Ecology 56:771–790
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Comstock, J.P., Cooper, T.A. & Ehleringer, J.R. Seasonal patterns of canopy development and carbon gain in nineteen warm desert shrub species. Oecologia 75, 327–335 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376933
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376933