Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effects of light acclimation during and after foliage expansion on photosynthesis ofAbies amabilis foliage within the canopy

  • Ecophysiology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Variation in the photosynthetic function ofAbies amabilis foliage within a canopy was examined and related to three different processes that affect foliage function: foliage aging, sun-shade acclimation that occurred while foliage was expanding, and reacclimation after expansion was complete. Foliage produced in the sun had higher photosynthesis at light saturation (A max, μmol·m-2·s-1), dark respiration (μmol·m-2·s-1), nitrogen content (g·m-2), chlorophyll content (g·m-2), and chlorophylla:b ratio, and a lower chlorophyll to nitrogen ratio (chl:N), than foliage produced in the shade. As sun foliage becomes shaded, it becomes physiologically similar to shade foliage, even though it still retains a sun morphology. Shaded sun foliage exhibited lowerA max, dark respiration, nitrogen content, and chlorophylla:b ratio, and a higher chl:N ratio than sun foliage of the same age remaining in the open. However, shaded sun foliage had a higher chlorophyll content than sun foliage remaining in the open, even though true shade foliage had a lower chlorophyll content than sun foliage. This anomaly arises because as sun foliage becomes shaded, it retains a higher nitrogen content than shade foliage in a similar light environment, but the two forms have similar chl:N ratios. Within the canopy, most physiological indicators were more strongly correlated with the current light environment than with foliage age or leaf thickness, with the exception of chlorophyll content.A max decreased significantly with both decreasing current light environment of the foliage and increasing foliage age. The same trend with current light and age was found for the chlorophylla:b ratio. Foliage nitrogen content also decreased with a decrease in current light environment, but no distinct pattern was found with foliage age. Leaf thickness was also important for predicting leaf nitrogen content: thicker leaves had more nitrogen than thinner leaves regardless of light environment or age. The chl:N ratio had a strong negative correlation with the current light environment, and, as with nitrogen content, no distinct pattern was found with foliage age. Chlorophyll content of the foliage was not well correlated with any of the three predictor variables: current light environment, foliage age or leaf thickness. On the other hand, chlorophyll content was positively correlated with the amount of nitrogen in a leaf, and once nitrogen was considered, the current light environment was also highly significant in explaining the variation in chlorophyll content. It has been suggested that the redistribution of nitrogen both within and between leaves is a mechanism for photosynthetic acclimation to the current light environment. Within theseA. amabilis canopies, both leaf nitrogen and the chl:N ratio were strongly correlated with the current light environment, but only weakly with leaf age, supporting the idea that changing light is the driving force for the redistribution of nitrogen both within and between leaves. Thus, our results support previous theories on nitrogen distribution and partitioning. However,A max was significantly affected by both foliage age and the current light environment, indicating that changes in light alone are not enough to explain changes inA max with time.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackerly DD (1992) Light, leaf age, and leaf nitrogen concentration in a tropical vine. Oecologia 89:596–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Ågren GI, Axelsson B, Flower-Ellis JGK, Linder S, Persson H, Staaf H, Troeng E (1980) Annual carbon budget for a young Scots pine. In: Persson T (ed) Structure and function of northern coniferous forests. Ecol Bull 32:307–313

  • Arnon DI (1949) Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenoloxidase inBeta vulgaris. Plant Physiol 24:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer H, Thöni W (1988) Photosynthetic light acclimation in fully developed leaves of the juvenile and adult life phases ofHedera helix. Physiol Plant 73:31–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Björkman O (1981) Responses to different quantum flux densities. In: Lange O, Nobel P, Osmond C, Ziegler H (eds) Physiological plant ecology. I. Responses to the physical environment (Encyclopedia of plant physiology vol 12A) Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 57–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom AJ, Chapin FS, Mooney HA (1985) Resource limitation in plants — an economic analogy. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 16:363–392

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks JR (1987) Foliage respiration ofAbies amabilis. Masters Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle

  • Brooks JR, Hinckley TM, Ford ED, Sprugel DG (1991) Foliage dark respiration inAbies amabilis: variation within the canopy. Tree Physiol 9:325–338

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks JR, Hinckley TM, Sprugel DG (1994) Acclimation responses of matureAbies amabilis sun foliage to shading. Oecologia 100:316–324

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkey KO, Wells R (1991) Response of soybean photosynthesis and chloroplast membrane function to canopy development and mutual shading. Plant Physiol 97:245–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell MM, Meister H-P, Tenhunen JD, Lange OL (1986) Canopy structure, light microclimate and leaf gas exchange ofQuercus coccifera L. in a Portuguese macchia: measurements in different canopy layers and simulations with a canopy model. Trees 1:25–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL, Field CB (1987) Photographic estimation of photosynthetic active radiation: evaluation of a computerized technique. Oecologia 73:525–532

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen J-L, Reynolds JF, Harley PC, Tenhunen JD (1993) Goordination theory of leaf nitrogen distribution in a canopy. Oecologia 93:63–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies EC, Choe WS, Le Fay JM, Jordan BR (1986) Acclimation of tomato leaves to changes in light intensity; effects on the function of the thylakoid membrane. J Exp Bot 37:211–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Doley D, Unwin GL, Yates DJ (1988) Spatial and temporal distribution of photosynthesis and transpiration by single leaves in a rainforest tree,Argyrodendron peralatum. Aust J Plant Physiol 15:317–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehleringer JR, Pearcy RW, Mooney HA (1986) Recommendations of the workshop on the future development of plant physiological ecology. Bull Ecol Soc Am 67:48–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans JR (1989) Photosynthesis and nitrogen relationships in leaves of C3 plants. Oecologia 78:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans JR (1993a) Photosynthetic acclimation and nitrogen partitioning within a lucerne canopy. I. Canopy characteristics. Aust J Plant Physiol 20:55–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans JR (1993b) Photosynthetic acclimation and nitrogen partitioning within a lucerne canopy. II. Stability through time and comparison with a theoretical optimum. Aust J Plant Physiol 20:69–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans JR, Seemann JR (1989) The allocation of protein nitrogen in the photosynthetic apparatus: costs, consequences, and control. In: Briggs WR (ed) Photosynthesis. Liss, New York, pp 183–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Farquhar GD (1989) Models of integrated photosynthesis of cells and leaves. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 323:357–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Field CB (1981) Leaf age effects on the carbon gain of individual leaves in relation to microsite. In: Margaris NS, Mooney HA (eds) Components of productivity of mediterranean-climate regions: basic and applied aspects. Junk, The Hague, pp 41–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Field CB (1983) Allocating leaf nitrogen for the maximization of carbon gain: leaf age as a control on the allocation program. Oecologia 56:341–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Field CB (1987) Leaf-age effects on stomatal conductance. In: Zeiger E, Farquhar GD, Cowan IR (eds) Stomatal function. Stanford University Press, Stanford, pp 368–384

    Google Scholar 

  • Field CB and JR Ehleringer (1993) Introduction: questions of scale. In: Ehleringer JR, Field CB (eds) Scaling physiological processes: leaf to globe. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin JF, Dyrness CT (1973) Natural vegetation of Oregon and Washington, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenway KJ, Macdonald SE, Lieffers VJ (1992) Is long-lived foliage inPicea mariana an adaptation to nutrient-poor conditions? Oecologia 91:184–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Heichel GH (1970) Prior illumination and the respiration of maize leaves in the dark. Plant Physiol 46:359–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Hikosaka K, Terashima I, Katoh S (1994) Effects of leaf age, nitrogen nutrition and photon flux density on the distribution of nitrogen among leaves of a vine (Ipomoea tricolor Cav.) grown horizontally to avoid mutual shading of leaves. Oecologia 97:451–457

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger DY (1989) Canopy organization and foliage photosynthetic capacity in a broad-leaved evergreen montane forest. Funct Ecol 3:53–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Hom JL, Oechel WC (1983) The photosynthetic capacity, nutrient use efficiency of different needle age-classes of black spruce (Picea mariana) found in interior Alaska. Can J For Res 13:834–839

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis PG, Leverenz JW (1983) Productivity of temperate, deciduous, and evergreen forests. In: Lange O, Nobel P, Osmond C, Ziegler H (eds) Physiological plant ecology IV. (Encyclopedia of plant physiology vol 12 D). Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 233–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis PG, Miranda HS, Muetzelfeld RI (1985) Modelling canopy exchanges of water vapor and carbon dioxide in coniferous forest plantations. In: Hutchinson BA, Hicks BB (eds) The forest-atmosphere interaction. Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 521–542

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson PS (1994) The significance of internal nutrient cycling in branches for growth and reproduction ofRhodeodendron lapponicum. Oikos 70:191–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Köstner BM, Schulze E-D, Kelliher FM, Hollinger DY, Byers JN, Hunt JE, McSeveny TM, Meserth R, Weir PL (1992) Transpiration and canopy conductance in a pristine broad-leaved forest ofNothofagus: an analysis of xylem sap flow and eddy correlation measurements. Oecologia 91:350–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Leverenz JW (1988) The effects of illumination sequence. CO2 concentration, temperature and acclimation on the convexity of the photosynthetic light response curve. Physiol Plant 74:332–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Leverenz JW, Jarvis PG (1979) Photosynthesis in Sitka spruce. VIII. The effect of light flux density and direction on the rate of net photosynthesis and the stomatal conductance of needles. J Appl Ecol 16:919–932

    Google Scholar 

  • Leverenz JW, Jarvis PG (1980) Photosynthesis in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) carr). X. Acclimation to quantum flux density within and between trees. J Applied Ecol 17:697–708

    Google Scholar 

  • Leverenz JW, Deans JD, Ford ED, Jarvis PJ, Milne R, Whitehead D (1982) Systematic spatial variation of stomatal conductance in a sitka spruce plantation. J Appl Ecol 19:835–851

    Google Scholar 

  • Nebel A, Matile P (1992) Longevity and senescence of needles inPinus cembra L. Trees 6:156–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Neter J, Wasserman W, Kutner MH (1985) Applied linear statistical models: regression, analysis of variance, and experimental designs. Irwin, Homewood

    Google Scholar 

  • Oberbauer SF, Clark DB, Clark DA, Quesada M (1988) Crown light environments of saplings of two species of rain forest emergent trees. Oecologia 75:207–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Oren R, Schulze E-D (1989) Nutritional disharmony and forest decline: a conceptual model. In: Schulze E-D, Lange OL, Oren R (eds) Forest decline and air pollution: a study in spruce (Picea abies) on acid soils (Ecological studies 77). Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 425–443

    Google Scholar 

  • Osmond CB, Chow WS (1988) Ecology of photosynthesis in the sun and shade: summary and prognostications. Aust J Plant Physiol 15:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson JA, Allen SE (1975) A wet oxidation procedure suitable for the determination of nitrogen and mineral nutrients in biological material. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 6:1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearcy RW, Sims DA (1994) Photosynthetic acclimation to changing light environments: Scaling from the leaf to the whole plant. In: Caldwell MM, Pearcy RW (eds) Exploitation of environmental heterogeneity by plants. Academic Press, New York, pp 145–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Rich PM (1989) A manual for analysis of hemispherical canopy photography. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MG (1991) Effects of climate change on plant respiration. Ecol Apps 1:157–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoettle AW, Smith WK (1991) Interrelation between shoot characteristics and solar irradiance in the crown ofPinus contorta ssp.latifolia. Tree Physiol 9:245–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulze E-D, Fuchs MI, Fuchs M (1977) Spatial distribution of photosynthetic capacity and performance in a mountain spruce forest of northern Germany. I. Biomass distribution and daily CO2 uptake in different crown layers. Oecologia 29:43–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Sebaa ED, Prioul JL, Brangeon J (1987) Acclimation of adultLolium multiflorum leaves to changes in irradiance: effect on leaf photosynthesis and chloroplast ultrastructure. J Plant Physiol 126:431–441

    Google Scholar 

  • Šesták Z (1971) Determination of chlorophyllsa andb. In: Šesták Z, Čatský J, Jarvis PG (eds) Plant photosynthetic production: manual of methods. Junk, The Hague, pp 672–701

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims DA, Pearcy RW (1991) Photosynthesis and respiration inAlocasia macrorrhiza following transfers to high and low light. Oecologia 86:447–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims DA, Pearcy RW (1992) Response of leaf anatomy and photosynthetic capacity inAlocasia macrorrhiza (Araceae) to a transfer from low to high light. Am J Bot 79:449–455

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprugel DG, Brooks JR, Hinckley TM (1996) Effect of light on shoot geometry and needle morphology inAbies amabilis. Tree Physiol 16:91–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Teskey RO, Grier CC, Hinckley TM (1984) Change in photosynthesis and water relations with age and season inAbies amabilis. Can J For Res 14:77–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Turgeon R (1989) The sink-source transition in leaves. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 40:119–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Young DR, Smith WK (1980) Influence of sunlight on photosynthesis, water relations, and leaf structure in the understory speciesArnica cordifolia. Ecology 61:1380–1390

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler R, Egle K (1965) Zur quantitativen Analyse der Chloroplastenpigmente. I. Kritische Überprüfung der spektralphotometrischen Chlorophyll-Bestimmung. Beitr Biol Pflanz 41:11–37

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. J. Renée Brooks

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of South Florida, 33620-5150, Tampa, FL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, AR-10, 98195, Seattle, WA, USA

    J. Renée Brooks, Douglas G. Sprugel & Thomas M. Hinckley

Authors
  1. J. Renée Brooks
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Douglas G. Sprugel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thomas M. Hinckley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brooks, J.R., Sprugel, D.G. & Hinckley, T.M. The effects of light acclimation during and after foliage expansion on photosynthesis ofAbies amabilis foliage within the canopy. Oecologia 107, 21–32 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582231

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00582231

Key words

Search

Navigation