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Photosynthetic characteristics of dipterocarp species planted on degraded sandy soils in southern Thailand

  • Published:
Photosynthetica

Abstract

To elucidate whether dipterocarp species, dominant late-successional species of tropical forests in Southeast Asia, actually have a disadvantage when planted on open site in terms of their photosynthetic characteristics, we investigated photosynthesis in dipterocarp seedlings planted in the open on degraded sandy soils in southern Thailand. These species were compared with seedlings of Acacia mangium Willd., a fast-growing tropical leguminous tree, which is often planted on degraded open site in Southeast Asia. The dipterocarp seedlings had an irradiance-saturated net photosynthetic rate (P N), stomatal conductance (g s), carboxylation efficiency, and photosynthetic capacity comparable to or superior to those of A. mangium. In particular, seedlings of Dipterocarpus obtusifolius Teijsm. ex Miq. showed an irradian-ce-saturated P N of 21 µmol m−2 s−1, a value higher than any previously reported for a dipterocarp species, accompanied by high g s (0.7 mol m−2 s−1) and high photosynthetic capacity. Thus dipterocarp species do not necessarily have a disadvantage in terms of their photosynthetic characteristics on open sites with degraded sandy soils.

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Abbreviations

C i :

internal CO2 concentration

Chl:

chlorophyll

g s :

stomatal conductance

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

PPFD:

photosynthetic photon flux density

PS2:

photosystem 2

R D :

dark respiration rate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asian Natural Environmental Science Center, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    M. Norisada & K. Kojima

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  1. M. Norisada
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  2. K. Kojima
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Correspondence to M. Norisada.

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Norisada, M., Kojima, K. Photosynthetic characteristics of dipterocarp species planted on degraded sandy soils in southern Thailand. Photosynthetica 43, 491–499 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-005-0080-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-005-0080-4

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