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Size-dependency in hydraulic and photosynthetic properties of three Acer species having different maximum sizes

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that physiological traits can be affected by tree size due to stronger hydraulic limitation in taller trees. As trees vary greatly in size, both within and among species, the adaptive responses to hydraulic limitation may be different among species with different maximum sizes. To investigate this, we explored size-dependency in photosynthetic and hydraulic parameters of three Acer species (Acer mono Maxim., Acer amoenum Carr and Acer japonicum Thunb.) using trees of various sizes under well-lit conditions. Leaf stomatal conductance of the Acer species decreased with tree size, implying that water supply to leaves decreases as trees grow. In contrast, content of nitrogen increased with tree size, which may compensate for the decrease in stomatal conductance to maintain the photosynthetic rate. Although the increase in nitrogen and leaf mass per area were larger in species with larger statures, the size-dependency in stomatal conductance was not different among species, and photosynthetic rate and hydraulic conductance were maintained in the three Acer species. Therefore, we suggest that hydraulic limitation on gas exchange does not necessarily depend on the maximum height of the species and that maintenance of photosynthesis and hydraulic properties is a fundamental physiological process during tree growth.

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Acknowledgments

We thank A. Ishida, T. Saito and Y. Fukushima for their valuable comments and discussions. We also thank the staff of TOEF (Hokkaido University) for arrangements at the study site. This work was supported in part by grants from MESSC Japan (15208014, 16208014) to T.H.

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Author notes

  1. Eri Nabeshima

    Present address: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-8-1, Harumi-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo, 183-8538, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tomakomai Research Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Takaoka, Tomakomai, 053-0035, Japan

    Eri Nabeshima & Tsutom Hiura

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  1. Eri Nabeshima
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  2. Tsutom Hiura
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Correspondence to Eri Nabeshima.

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Nabeshima, E., Hiura, T. Size-dependency in hydraulic and photosynthetic properties of three Acer species having different maximum sizes. Ecol Res 23, 281–288 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0374-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0374-z

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