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Leaf Photosynthesis Integrated over Time

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The Leaf: A Platform for Performing Photosynthesis

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 44))

Summary

We review a series of papers based on Kikuzawa’s (1991) cost-benefit model for leaf longevity, including its extension to whole plants and entire communities in seasonal environments. This simple model of net carbon gain over the life of a leaf can explain relationships among key foliar traits such as the positive correlation between leaf longevity (L) and leaf mass per area (LMA) and the negative correlations between photosynthetic rate (A) and both L and LMA. The extension of the model to seasonal environments can explain and reproduce various biogeographical trends including bimodality in the distribution of evergreen species across latitude, increase and decrease in L of evergreen and deciduous species with shortening of the period favorable for photosynthesis (f), modulation of L-LMA relationships with f, and decrease in functional type richness in terms of phenology patterns towards higher latitudes and altitudes. Finally, the model suggests the possibility that the lifetime carbon gain by a single leaf can be extended by analogy to predict the productivity of forest ecosystems.

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Abbreviations

a:

daily photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area (g C m−2 day−1)

Aarea :

instantaneous photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area (μmol CO2 m−2 s−1)

Amass :

instantaneous photosynthetic rate per unit leaf mass (nmol CO2 g−1 dry weight s−1)

\( {\overline{\mathrm{A}}}_{\mathrm{area}} \) :

average instantaneous photosynthetic rate on an area basis (μmol CO2 m−2 s−1)

\( {\overline{\mathrm{A}}}_{\mathrm{mass}} \) :

average instantaneous photosynthetic rate on a mass basis (nmol CO2 g−1 dry weight s−1)

ANPP:

aboveground net primary production (g dry weight m−2 year−1)

B:

leaf biomass of the stand (g dry weight m−2)

b:

potential leaf longevity (days)

C:

construction cost of leaves (g dry weight m−2)

Cl :

construction cost of a leaf (g dry weight m−2)

Cs :

costs for leaf supporting tissues (g dry weight m−2)

F:

leaf (litter) production (g dry weight m−2 year−1)

f:

favorable period length, i.e. the snow-free period (year year−1)

Fi :

mass of leaves per species i in a stand of trees

G:

carbon gain by a leaf (g dry weight m−2)

g:

the marginal carbon gain at the leaf level (g dry weight m−2 day−1)

L:

leaf longevity (days)

lamD:

lamina density or leaf mass per unit leaf volume (g dry weight m−3)

lamT:

lamina thickness (m)

LES:

leaf economic spectrum

LMA:

leaf mass per leaf area (g dry weight m−2)

m:

mean labor time (s day−1)

MAT:

mean annual temperature (°C)

Mmax :

mass of the largest individual in a stand of trees (g)

Mmin :

mass of the smallest individual in a stand of trees (g)

N:

cumulative number of trees in the stand from the largest tree (number m−2)

n:

plant number per unit land area (number m−2)

NAR:

net assimilation rate (g m−2 day−1)

Nmass :

nitrogen content per unit leaf mass (g g−1)

pg(t):

gross photosynthetic rate (g m−2 day−1)

Pi :

surplus photosynthetic production of species i in a stand of trees (g m−2 year−1)

PL :

lifetime photosynthetic gain by a single leaf (g dry weight g−1 dry weight)

PLi :

photosynthetic lifetime gain by a leaf of species i (g dry weight g−1 dry weight)

pn(t):

net photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area at time t (g dry weight day−1 m−2)

Pt :

stand production of a single species (g dry weight m−2 year−1)

PT:

total surplus production of the forest ecosystem (g dry weight m−2 year−1)

Q:

Plant performance relating to some aspect of plant metabolism.

RGR:

relative growth rate (g dry weight g−1 dry weight day−1)

r(t):

respiration rate of a unit leaf area (g dry weight m−2 day−1)

topt :

the optimum timing of leaf shedding to maximize carbon gain of the plant

wL :

leaf weight (g)

Y:

cumulative mass from the largest tree in a stand (g m−2)

y:

total plant biomass per unit land area (g m−2)

β:

normalization constant

∂ :

the cumulative duration of favorable time for photosynthesis (day)

ϕ(M):

distribution density function for tree mass

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Acknowledgments

We thank William W. Adams III and Ichiro Terashima for inviting our contribution to this book. We also thank Kiyoshi Umeki, Kaoru Kitajima, and Yusuke Onoda for their comments on the drafts of the manuscript. YO derived Eq. (17.23).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kyoto University, Yamashina, Kyoto, Japan

    Kihachiro Kikuzawa

  2. Ishikawa Prefectural University, Zushioku, Onoechou, Japan

    Kihachiro Kikuzawa

  3. Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Martin J. Lechowicz

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  1. Kihachiro Kikuzawa
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Correspondence to Kihachiro Kikuzawa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    William W. Adams III

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo Ku, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan

    Ichiro Terashima

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Kikuzawa, K., Lechowicz, M.J. (2018). Leaf Photosynthesis Integrated over Time. In: Adams III, W., Terashima, I. (eds) The Leaf: A Platform for Performing Photosynthesis. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 44. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93594-2_17

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