Abstract
In crowns of chestnut trees the absorption of radiant energy is not homogeneous; leaves from the south (S) side are the most irradiated, but leaves from the east (E) and west (W) sides receive around 70 % and those from north (N) face less than 20 % of the S irradiation. Compared to the S leaves, those from the N side were 10 % smaller, their stomata density was 14 % smaller, and their laminae were 21 % thinner. N leaves had 0.63 g(Chl) m−2, corresponding to 93 % of total chlorophyll (Chl) amount in leaves of S side. The ratios of Chl a/b were 2.9 and 3.1 and of Chl/carotenoids (Car) 5.2 and 4.8, respectively, in N and S leaves. Net photosynthetic rate (P N) was 3.9 µmol(CO2) m−2 s−1 in S leaves, in the E, W, and N leaves 81, 77, and 38 % of that value, respectively. Morning time (10:00 h) was the period of highest P N in the whole crown, followed by 13:00 h (85 % of S) and 16:00 h with 59 %. Below 500 µmol m−2 s−1 of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), N leaves produced the highest P N, while at higher PPFD, the S leaves were most active. In addition, the fruits from S side were 10 % larger than those from the N side.
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Abbreviations
- A:
-
leaf area
- ACMA:
-
9-amino-6-chloro-methoxyacridine
- ALM:
-
area leaf mass
- Car:
-
carotenoids
- Chl:
-
chlorophyll
- DM:
-
dry mass
- E:
-
transpiration rate
- g s :
-
stomatal conductance
- MV:
-
methylviologen
- P N :
-
net photosynthetic rate
- PPFD:
-
photosynthetic photon flux density
- Q:
-
ACMA fluorescence
- RWC:
-
relative water content
- SLA:
-
specific leaf area
- T L :
-
leaf temperature
- WUE:
-
water use efficiency
- Ψp :
-
leaf pressure potential
- Ψw :
-
leaf water potential
- Ψπ :
-
leaf osmotic potential
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Gomes-Laranjo, J., Coutinho, J.P., Galhano, V. et al. Differences in photosynthetic apparatus of leaves from different sides of the chestnut canopy. Photosynthetica 46, 63–72 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-008-0012-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-008-0012-1