Photosynthetic characteristics and light energy conversions under different light environments in five tree species occupying dominant status at different stages of subtropical forest succession
Qiang Zhang A , Tai-Jie Zhang A , Wah Soon Chow B , Xin Xie A , Yuan-Jun Chen A and Chang-Lian Peng A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotechnology for Plant Development, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Guangdong Higher Education, College of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China.
B Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Functional Plant Biology 42(7) 609-619 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP14355
Submitted: 17 December 2014 Accepted: 8 March 2015 Published: 10 April 2015
Abstract
In order to reveal the mechanism of succession in subtropical forest along a light gradient, we investigated photosynthetic physiological responses to three light environments in five tree species including a pioneer species Pinus massoniana Lamb., two mid-successional species Schima superba Gardn. et Champ. and Castanopsis fissa (Champ. ex Benth.) Rehd. et Wils., and two late-successional species Cryptocarya concinna Hance. and Acmena acuminatissima (BI.) Merr et Perry) that were selected from Dinghu Mountain subtropical forest, South China. Results showed that, among the three kinds of species in all light conditions (100%, 30% and 12% of full sunlight), the pioneer species had the highest photosynthetic capacity (Amax), light saturation point (LSP), carboxylation efficiency (CE) and maximum utilisation rate of triose phosphate (TPU) that characterised a strong photosynthetic capacity and high carbon dioxide uptake efficiency. However, a higher light compensation point (LCP) and dark respiration (Rd) as well as lower apparent quantum yield (AQY) indicated that the pioneer specie cannot adapt to low light conditions. Mid-successional species had photosynthetic characteristics in between pioneer and late-successional species, but had the greatest effective quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII) and light use efficiency (LUE, expressed in terms of photosynthesis). In contrast to pioneer and mid-successional species, late-successional species had lower photosynthetic capacity and carbon uptake efficiency, but higher shade tolerance and high-light heat dissipation capacity, as characterised by higher levels of total xanthophyll cycle pigments (VAZ) and de-epoxidation state of xanthophyll cycle (DEPs). These results indicate that photosynthetic capacity decreases along the successional axis and that late-successional species have more responsive heat dissipation capability to compensate for their inferior photosynthetic capacity.
Additional keywords: chlorophyll fluorescence, community succession, light intensity, photosynthetic characteristics, photosynthetic control, shade tolerance.
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