biologia plantarum

International journal on Plant Life established by Bohumil Nìmec in 1959

Biologia plantarum 45:213-220, 2002 | DOI: 10.1023/A:1015136421445

Limitation to Carbon Assimilation of Two Perennial Species in Semi-Arid South-East Spain

F. Domingo1, L. Gutiérrez1, A.J. Brenner2, C. Aguilera3
1 Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Almería, Spain
2 School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
3 Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Almería, Almería, Spain

Diurnal and seasonal changes of net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and the efficiency of photosystem 2 (Fv/Fm) were measured on two perennial species growing on a soil catena in semi-arid south-east Spain. Stipa tenacissima, a tussock grass, grows on shallow soil at the top of the catena and Retama sphaerocarpa, a leguminous shrub, grows in the valley bottom. A linear relationship was found between light saturated photosynthetic rates (Pmax) and diffusive leaf conductance (gl) in both Retama and Stipa indicating that the intercellular CO2 concentration (ci) was maintained constant in both species diurnally. Relatively high values of calculated ci in Retama cladodes suggested that was not the primary limitation to carbon assimilation. Fv/Fm for the two species when well watered was around 0.8. Although Retama cladodes maintained this value throughout the year, Fv/Fm decreased to a minimum of 0.43 in Stipa leaves, at the end of the dry season. Our data suggest that plants in the Rambla Honda can substantially reduce transpiration without reducing photosynthetic rates to the same extent by closing their stomata, because Pn is reduced primarily by high respiration, decreased mesophyll conductance and by photoinhibition or permanent damage of photosystem 2.

Keywords: chlorophyll fluorescence; diffusive conductance; photosynthesis; Retama sphaerocarpa; Stipa tenacissima
Subjects: conductance for CO2 transfer, photosynthesis; diurnal and seasonal changes, photosystem 2, gas exchange; fluorescence, chlorophyll, gas exchange; gas exchange, photosystem 2; leaf conductance, photosystem 2, diurnal and seasonal changes; photochemical activities; photon flux density; photosystem 2, photochemical activity; Retama sphaerocarpa; seasonal and diurnal changes, photosystem 2, gas exchange; Stipa tenacissima

Published: June 1, 2002  Show citation

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Domingo, F., Gutiérrez, L., Brenner, A.J., & Aguilera, C. (2002). Limitation to Carbon Assimilation of Two Perennial Species in Semi-Arid South-East Spain. Biologia plantarum, 45(2), 213-220. doi: 10.1023/A:1015136421445
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