Ce. Lovelock et al., PHOTOINHIBITION IN TROPICAL FOREST UNDERSTOREY SPECIES WITH SHORT-LIVED AND LONG-LIVED LEAVES, Functional ecology, 12(4), 1998, pp. 553-560
1. Shade-tolerant species that inhabit the understorey have a range of
leaf lifetimes (from 1 to 8 years), which may indicate a variety of s
trategies for dealing with increases in light associated with tree-fal
l gaps. We hypothesized that species with long-lived leaves should be
more tolerant of an increase in light levels than species with short-l
ived leaves. 2, In understorey plants of 12 shade-tolerant rain-forest
species, photoinhibition, measured as a reduction in the chlorophyll
fluorescence parameter F-v/F-m when leaf discs were exposed to 1 h at
1000 mu mol m(-2)s(-1), was greater in species with short-lived leaves
than species with long-lived leaves. 3, Less photoinhibition in speci
es with long-lived leaves was not associated with higher levels of non
-photochemical dissipation (NPQ) of absorbed light, but may be the res
ult of a higher yield of photosystem II compared with short-lived leav
es. 4, Thus, species with long-lived leaves are more tolerant of abrup
t increases in light that occur when tree-fall gaps are formed than sp
ecies with short-lived leaves. 5, Discs from leaves of all species gro
wing in tree-fall gaps had higher levels of NPQ, yield of photosystem
II and more rapid recovery from photoinhibition than leaves developed
in the understorey; however, there were no differences among species w
ith short- and long-lived leaves.