Effect of light intensities on the photosynthesis, growth and physiological performances of two maple species
Photoinhibition decreases photosynthetic capacity and can therefore affect the plant survival, growth, and distribution, but little is known about how it affects on kindred tree species. We conducted field experiments to measure the photosynthetic, growth and physiological performances of two maple...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Frontiers in plant science Vol. 13; p. 999026 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A
12-10-2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Photoinhibition decreases photosynthetic capacity and can therefore affect the plant survival, growth, and distribution, but little is known about how it affects on kindred tree species. We conducted field experiments to measure the photosynthetic, growth and physiological performances of two maple species (
Acer mono
and
A. pseudosieboldianum
) seedlings at four light intensities (100%, 75%, 55%, and 20% of full light) and evaluated the adaptability of seedlings. We found that: (1)
A. mono
seedlings have larger light saturated photosynthetic rates (
A
max
), the light saturation point (LSP), and lower light compensation point (LCP) than
A. pseudosieboldianum
seedlings, thus indicating that the former has a stronger light utilization ability. (2)
A. mono
seedlings under 75% light intensity and had higher seedling height (SH), basal stem diameter (BSD), leaf number (LN), leaf area per plant (LAPP) and total dry weight (TDW), while
A. pseudosieboldianum
seedling at 55% light intensity displayed greater growth advantages, which agreed with their response of light saturated photosynthetic rate. Morphological plasticity adjustments such as decreased root shoot ratio (RSR) and increased specific leaf area (SLA) showed how seedlings adapt to weak light environments. (3) 100% and 20% light intensities increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of two maple seedlings, indicating that very strong or very weak light could lead to the imbalance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism. The regulation of antioxidant enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), as well as the content of osmoregulation substances such as free proline and soluble protein, are the main mechanisms of plant adaptation to light stress. Although both
A. mono
and
A. pseudosieboldianum
are highly shade tolerant, subtle differences in the photosynthetic, morphological and physiological traits underpinning their shade tolerance suggest
A. pseudosieboldianum
has the advantage to deal with the light threat. Future studies should focus on the expression level of photosynthesis-related genes and cell, to better understand the adaptation mechanism of plants to light variation which facilitates forest development, either natural or
via
silvicultural practices. This information expands our understanding of the light-regulating mechanism of trees, which contributes to develop management practices to support natural forest regeneration. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Edited by: Michael Moustakas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece This article was submitted to Photosynthesis and Photobiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science Reviewed by: Sachchidanand Tripathi, University of Delhi, India; Juanjuan Fu, Northwest A&F University, China These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship |
| ISSN: | 1664-462X 1664-462X |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpls.2022.999026 |