Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1985 Nov;79(3):896–902. doi: 10.1104/pp.79.3.896

Photosynthetic Responses to Dynamic Light Environments by Hawaiian Trees 1

Time Course of CO2 Uptake and Carbon Gain during Sunflecks

Robert W Pearcy 1, Katherine Osteryoung 1,2, Howard W Calkin 1,3
PMCID: PMC1074991  PMID: 16664512

Abstract

Gas exchange responses to rapid changes in light were studied in a C3 tree, Claoxylon sandwicense Muell-Arg and a C4 tree, Euphorbia forbesii Sherff that are native to the understory of a mesic Hawaiian forest. When light was increased to 500 micromoles per meter per second following a 2 hour preexposure at 22 micromoles per meter per second, net CO2 uptake rates and stomatal conductance gradually increased for over 1 hour in C. sandwicense but reached maximum values within 30 minutes in E. forbesii. Calculation of the intercellular CO2 pressures indicated that the primary limitation to CO2 uptake during this induction was nonstomatal in both species. The photosynthetic response to simulated sunflecks (lightflecks) was strongly dependent on the induction state of the leaf. Total CO2 uptake during a lightfleck was greater and the response was faster after exposure of the leaf to high light than when the leaf had been exposed only to low light for the previous 2 hours. During a series of lightflecks, induction resulted in increased CO2 uptake in successive lightflecks. Significant postillumination CO2 fixation was evident and contributed substantially to the total carbon gain, especially for lightflecks of 5 to 20 seconds' duration.

Full text

PDF
896

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Gross L. J., Chabot B. F. Time course of photosynthetic response to changes in incident light energy. Plant Physiol. 1979 Jun;63(6):1033–1038. doi: 10.1104/pp.63.6.1033. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Laisk A., Kiirats O., Oja V. Assimilatory Power (Postillumination CO(2) Uptake) in Leaves: Measurement, Environmental Dependencies, and Kinetic Properties. Plant Physiol. 1984 Nov;76(3):723–729. doi: 10.1104/pp.76.3.723. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Pearcy R. W. C(4) photosynthesis in tree form euphorbia species from hawaiian rainforest sites. Plant Physiol. 1975 Jun;55(6):1054–1056. doi: 10.1104/pp.55.6.1054. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Perchorowicz J. T., Raynes D. A., Jensen R. G. Light limitation of photosynthesis and activation of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase in wheat seedlings. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 May;78(5):2985–2989. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.5.2985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Tang A. H., Collins R. J. Enhanced analgesic effects of morphine after chronic administration of naloxone in the rat. Eur J Pharmacol. 1978 Feb 15;47(4):473–474. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(78)90131-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Wong S. C., Cowan I. R., Farquhar G. D. Leaf Conductance in Relation to Assimilation in Eucalyptus pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng: Influence of Irradiance and Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide. Plant Physiol. 1978 Oct;62(4):670–674. doi: 10.1104/pp.62.4.670. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES