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Photosynthetic activity and efficiency of Bothriochloa ischaemum and Lespedeza davurica in mixtures across growth periods under water stress

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Abstract

Photosystem II (PSII) plays an especially important role in the photosynthetic response of higher plants to environmental perturbations and stresses. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the differences in the photochemical efficiency and activity of PSII between Bothriochloa ischaemum and Lespedeza davurica in mixtures under three soil water regimes [80 ± 5 % FC (field capacity) (HW), 60 ± 5 % FC (MW) and 40 ± 5 % FC (LW)]. The maximum PSII quantum yield (F v/F m), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), photochemical quenching (qP) and rapid light curve-derived parameters (rETRmax, maximum relative electron transport rate; I k, minimum saturating irradiance; α, initial slope of the curve) of each species were investigated during the heading period (HP), flowering period (FP) and mature period (MP). The results showed that under HW and MW regimes, the averaged F v/F m values of B. ischaemum in mixtures at the HP were significantly higher than in monoculture, and the mean rETRmax values of B. ischaemum during the HP and FP in mixtures were significantly higher than in monoculture. F v/F m values of B. ischaemum in the HP were significantly lower than in the other two growth periods under LW regime. During the MP, the averaged F v/F m values of L. davurica in mixtures were significantly higher than in monoculture under the HW regime, and the mean rETRmax values of L. davurica in mixtures were significantly higher than in monoculture under each water regime. In the same mixture ratio, NPQ values of B. ischaemum were significantly higher than those of L. davurica, but the rETRmax and I k values of B. ischaemum were significantly lower than those of L. davurica under each water regime. The results indicated that application of mixture planting enhanced the photosynthetic performance of both species depending on the developmental stage of the individual plant. B. ischaemum showed the maximal photosynthetic performance in the HP and FP while L. davurica in the MP under both sufficient water supply and water stress conditions.

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Abbreviations

α:

Initial slope of the curve

I k :

Minimum saturating irradiance

FC:

Field capacity

F m :

Maximal fluorescence yield

F o :

Minimal fluorescence yield

F v/F m :

Maximum PSII quantum yield

NPQ:

Non-photochemical quenching

PSII:

Photosystem II

qP:

Photochemical quenching

rETRmax :

Maximum relative electron transport rate

ΦPSII :

Effective quantum yield of PSII

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by National Science Foundation of China (41371509), Programs for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NECT-11-0444), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (ZD2013020) and “111” Project (B12007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Wei-Zhou Xu, Xi-Ping Deng, Bing-Cheng Xu, Zhi-Juan Gao & Wen-Li Ding

  2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Xi-Ping Deng & Bing-Cheng Xu

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  1. Wei-Zhou Xu
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  2. Xi-Ping Deng
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Correspondence to Bing-Cheng Xu.

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Communicated by Z. Gombos.

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Xu, WZ., Deng, XP., Xu, BC. et al. Photosynthetic activity and efficiency of Bothriochloa ischaemum and Lespedeza davurica in mixtures across growth periods under water stress. Acta Physiol Plant 36, 1033–1044 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-013-1481-9

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