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Verryckt, L. T., Van Langenhove, L., Ciais, P., Courtois, E. A., Vicca, S., Peñuelas, J., et al. (2020). Coping with branch excision when measuring leaf net photosynthetic rates in a lowland tropical forest. Biotropica, 52(4), 608–615.
Abstract: Measuring leaf gas exchange from canopy leaves is fundamental for our understanding of photosynthesis and for a realistic representation of carbon uptake in vegetation models. Since canopy leaves are often difficult to reach, especially in tropical forests with emergent trees up to 60 m at remote places, canopy access techniques such as canopy cranes or towers have facilitated photosynthetic measurements. These structures are expensive and therefore not very common. As an alternative, branches are often cut to enable leaf gas exchange measurements. The effect of branch excision on leaf gas exchange rates should be minimized and quantified to evaluate possible bias. We compared light-saturated leaf net photosynthetic rates measured on excised and intact branches. We selected branches positioned at three canopy positions, estimated relative to the top of the canopy: upper sunlit foliage, middle canopy foliage, and lower canopy foliage. We studied the variation of the effects of branch excision and transport among branches at these different heights in the canopy. After excision and transport, light-saturated leaf net photosynthetic rates were close to zero for most leaves due to stomatal closure. However, when the branch had acclimated to its new environmental conditions—which took on average 20 min—light-saturated leaf net photosynthetic rates did not significantly differ between the excised and intact branches. We therefore conclude that branch excision does not affect the measurement of light-saturated leaf net photosynthesis, provided that the branch is recut under water and is allowed sufficient time to acclimate to its new environmental conditions. © 2020 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Keywords: branch cutting; canopy physiology; French Guiana; gas exchange; photosynthesis; rainforest; stomatal conductance; ecological modeling; environmental conditions; forest canopy; leaf; measurement method; photosynthesis; tree; tropical forest; Gruidae
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Biwolé, A. B., Dainou, K., Fayolle, A., Hardy, O. J., Brostaux, Y., Coste, S., et al. (2015). Light Response of Seedlings of a Central African Timber Tree Species, Lophira alata (Ochnaceae), and the Definition of Light Requirements. Biotropica, 47(6), 681–688.
Abstract: Light is of primary importance in structuring tropical tree communities. Light exposure at seedling and adult stages has been used to characterize the ecological profile of tropical trees, with many implications in forest management and restoration ecology. Most shade-tolerance classification systems have been proposed based on empirical observations in a specific area and thus result in contradictions among categories assigned to a given species. In this study, we aimed to quantify the light requirements for seedling growth of a Central African timber tree, Lophira alata (Ochnaceae), taking into account effects of population origin. In two controlled experiments: a light response experiment and a comparative population experiment, conducted in southwestern Cameroon, using seeds collected from four populations (three from Cameroon and one from Gabon), we examined the quantitative responses to irradiance of seedlings. After 2 years, mortality was very low (<3%), even in extremely low irradiance. Growth and biomass allocation patterns varied in response to light, with intermediate irradiance (24–43%) providing optimal conditions. Light response differed between populations. The Boumba population in the northeastern edge of the species' distribution exhibited the highest light requirements, suggesting a local adaptation. As a result of positive growth at low irradiance and maximum growth at intermediate irradiance, we concluded that L. alata exhibits characteristics of both non-pioneer and pioneer species. Implications of our results to propose an objective way to assign the light requirement for tropical tree species are discussed.
Keywords: biomass allocation; Central Africa; light requirement: Lophira alata; population; relative growth rate; seedling growth; timber species; Afrique centrale; allocation de biomasse; besoins en lumière; croissance des semis; bois d'œuvre; Lophira alata; population; taux de croissance relatif
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Levionnois, S., Salmon, C., Alméras, T., Clair, B., Ziegler, C., Coste, S., et al. (2021). Anatomies, vascular architectures, and mechanics underlying the leaf size-stem size spectrum in 42 Neotropical tree species. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(22), 7957–7969.
Abstract: The leaf size-stem size spectrum is one of the main dimensions of plant ecological strategies. Yet the anatomical, mechanical, and hydraulic implications of small vs. large shoots are still poorly understood. We investigated 42 tropical rainforest tree species in French Guiana, with a wide range of leaf areas at the shoot level. We quantified the scaling of hydraulic and mechanical constraints with shoot size estimated as the water potential difference ΔΨ and the bending angle ΔΦ, respectively. We investigated how anatomical tissue area, flexural stiffness and xylem vascular architecture affect such scaling by deviating (or not) from theoretical isometry with shoot size variation. Vessel diameter and conductive path length were found to be allometrically related to shoot size, thereby explaining the independence between ΔΨ and shoot size. Leaf mass per area, stem length, and the modulus of elasticity were allometrically related with shoot size, explaining the independence between ΔΦ and shoot size. Our study also shows that the maintenance of both water supply and mechanical stability across the shoot size range are not in conflict.
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Levionnois, S., Ziegler, C., Heuret, P., Jansen, S., Stahl, C., Calvet, E., et al. (2021). Is vulnerability segmentation at the leaf‑stem transition a drought resistance mechanism? A theoretical test with a trait‑based model for Neotropical canopy tree species. Annals of Forest Science, 78(4), 78–87.
Abstract: Leaf-stem vulnerability segmentation predicts lower xylem embolism resistance in leaves than stem. However, although it has been intensively investigated these past decades, the extent to which vulnerability segmentation promotes drought resistance is not well understood. Based on a trait-based model, this study theoretically supports that vulnerability segmentation enhances shoot desiccation time across 18 Neotropical tree species. CONTEXT: Leaf-stem vulnerability segmentation predicts lower xylem embolism resistance in leaves than stems thereby preserving expensive organs such as branches or the trunk. Although vulnerability segmentation has been intensively investigated these past decades to test its consistency across species, the extent to which vulnerability segmentation promotes drought resistance is not well understood. AIMS: We investigated the theoretical impact of the degree of vulnerability segmentation on shoot desiccation time estimated with a simple trait-based model. METHODS: We combined data from 18 tropical rainforest canopy tree species on embolism resistance of stem xylem (flow-centrifugation technique) and leaves (optical visualisation method). Measured water loss under minimum leaf and bark conductance, leaf and stem capacitance, and leaf-to-bark area ratio allowed us to calculate a theoretical shoot desiccation time (tcᵣᵢₜ). RESULTS: Large degrees of vulnerability segmentation strongly enhanced the theoretical shoot desiccation time, suggesting vulnerability segmentation to be an efficient drought resistance mechanism for half of the studied species. The difference between leaf and bark area, rather than the minimum leaf and bark conductance, determined the drastic reduction of total transpiration by segmentation during severe drought. CONCLUSION: Our study strongly suggests that vulnerability segmentation is an important drought resistance mechanism that should be better taken into account when investigating plant drought resistance and modelling vegetation. We discuss future directions for improving model assumptions with empirical measures, such as changes in total shoot transpiration after leaf xylem embolism.
Keywords: Neotropics, bark, canopy, capacitance, drought, drought tolerance, embolism, leaves, models, transpiration, trees, tropical rain forests, xylem
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Coste, S., Baraloto, C., Leroy, C., Marcon, E., Renaud, A., Richardson, A. D., et al. (2010). Assessing foliar chlorophyll contents with the SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter: a calibration test with thirteen tree species of tropical rainforest in French Guiana. Ann. For. Sci., 67(6), 607.
Abstract: Chlorophyll meters such as the SPAD-502 offer a simple, inexpensive and rapid method to estimate foliar chlorophyll content. However, values provided by SPAD-502 are unitless and require empirical calibrations between SPAD units and extracted chlorophyll values. Leaves of 13 tree species from the tropical rain forest in French Guiana were sampled to select the most appropriate calibration model among the often-used linear, polynomial and exponential models, in addition to a novel homographic model that has a natural asymptote. The homographic model best accurately predicted total chlorophyll content (mu g cm(-2)) from SPAD units (R-2 = 0.89). Interspecific differences in the homographic model parameters explain less than 7% of the variation in chlorophyll content in our data set. The utility of the general homographic model for a variety of research and management applications clearly outweighs the slight loss of model accuracy due to the abandon of the species' effect.
Keywords: chlorophyll estimate; model calibration; homographic functions; neotropical trees
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