Anu Sõber

Leaf anatomical characteristics associated with shoot hydraulic conductance, stomatal conductance and stomatal sensitivity to changes of leaf water status in temperate deciduous trees

Some anatomical characteristics in leaves relating to hydraulic conductance and stomatal conductance were examined in six temperate deciduous tree species. The fourth power of the radius of the conducting elements in xylem (r4) and the area of mesophyll and epidermal cells per unit length of leaf cross-section (u) were high in leaves with high hydraulic conductance (L). Stomatal conductance (gs) and stomatal sensitivity to an increase in leaf water potential (si) correlated positively with the length of stomatal pore (l), but negatively with the guard cell width (z) and the length of the dorsal side of the guard cells (ld). Stomatal sensitivity to a decrease in leaf water potential (sd) correlated negatively with l and positively with z and ld. The anatomical characteristics associated with hydraulic conductance (r4 and u) and those associated with stomatal conductance and sensitivity to changes of leaf water potential (l, z and ld) were correlated. We conclude that hydraulic conductance may depend on anatomical characteristics of xylem, mesophyll and epidermis, and stomatal conductance and its sensitivity to changing water potential may depend on anatomical characteristics of stomata. The correlation of shoot hydraulic conductance with stomatal conductance and its sensitivity may be based largely on the correlation between the anatomical characteristics of the water conducting system and stomata in these trees.

The effect of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on leaf- and branch-level photosynthesis and potential plant-level carbon gain in aspen

Abstract.Two aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clones, differing in O3 tolerance, were grown in a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) facility near Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and exposed to ambient air, elevated CO2, elevated O3 and elevated CO2+O3. Leaf instantaneous light-saturated photosynthesis (PS) and leaf areas (A) were measured for all leaves of the current terminal, upper (current year) and the current-year increment of lower (1-year-old) lateral branches. An average, representative branch was chosen from each branch class. In addition, the average photosynthetic rate was estimated for the short-shoot leaves. A summing approach was used to estimate potential whole-plant C gain. The results of this method indicated that treatment differences were more pronounced at the plant- than at the leaf- or branch-level, because minor effects within modules accrued in scaling to plant level. The whole-plant response in C gain was determined by the counteracting changes in PS and A. For example, in the O3-sensitive clone (259), inhibition of PS in elevated O3 (at both ambient and elevated CO2) was partially ameliorated by an increase in total A. For the O3-tolerant clone (216), on the other hand, stimulation of photosynthetic rates in elevated CO2 was nullified by decreased total A.

Climate change at northern latitudes: rising atmospheric humidity decreases transpiration, N-uptake and growth rate of hybrid aspen.

At northern latitudes a rise in atmospheric humidity and precipitation is predicted as a consequence of global climate change. We studied several growth and functional traits of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L.×P. tremuloides Michx.) in response to elevated atmospheric humidity (on average 7% over the ambient level) in a free air experimental facility during three growing seasons (2008–2010) in Estonia, which represents northern temperate climate (boreo-nemoral zone). Data were collected from three humidified (H) and three control (C) plots, and analysed using nested linear models. Elevated air humidity significantly reduced height, stem diameter and stem volume increments and transpiration of the trees whereas these effects remained highly significant also after considering the side effects from soil-related confounders within the 2.7 ha study area. Tree leaves were smaller, lighter and had lower leaf mass per area (LMA) in H plots. The magnitude and significance of the humidity treatment effect – inhibition of above-ground growth rate – was more pronounced in larger trees. The lower growth rate in the humidified plots can be partly explained by a decrease in transpiration-driven mass flow of NO3 − in soil, resulting in a significant reduction in the measured uptake of N to foliage in the H plots. The results suggest that the potential growth improvement of fast-growing trees like aspens, due to increasing temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration, might be smaller than expected at high latitudes if a rise in atmospheric humidity simultaneously takes place.

Apparent Controls on Leaf Conductance by Soil Water Availability and via Light‐Acclimation of Foliage Structural and Physiological Properties in a Mixed Deciduous, Temperate Forest

Controls on leaf stomatal conductances imposed by soil water availability and foliage acclimation to long‐term integrated irradiance were studied in a natural mixed deciduous stand composed of shade‐intolerant Populus tremula L. and shade‐tolerant Tilia cordata Mill. Positive relationships between maximum stomatal conductance and seasonal integrated average daily quantum flux density ( \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape

Will photosynthetic capacity of aspen trees acclimate after long term exposure to elevated CO2 and O3

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Responses of stomatal conductance to simultaneous changes in two environmental factors

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Analysis of a Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry leaf-level photosynthetic rate model for Populus tremuloides in the context of modeling and measurement limitations

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