ALBERT

Notes: Summary Experiments with Prunus armeniaca were carried out under conditions of constant temperature but varying air humidity. Experiments were also contucted with a constant water vapor difference between the evaporating sites in a leaf and the air, but with varying leaf temperature. These served as a basis for predicting the daily course of total diffusion resistance under the natural climatic conditions of a desert. For the simulation, the rsults of the experiments at constant conditions with only one variable factor are fitted with empirical equations which serve as “calibration curves” to predict the change in diffusion resistance caused by a change in humidity and temperature calculated from the meteorological data of a desert day. The simulation shows that for P. armeniaca humidity and temperature are the dominating factors in controlling the daily course of diffusion resistance. For meteorologically very different days the simulation allows the increase in diffusion resistance in the morning to be predicted with an accuracy of 90%–105% as compared to directly observed measurements. In the afternoon, especially after extreme climatic conditions during the morning, the deviation between predicted and observed values of diffusion resistance may be greater, but not more than -20% to -30%. This possibly indicates the existence of an additional factor of significance which was not included in the simulation. The two peaked curves of net photosynthesis and transpiration characteristic of plants living under arid conditions can be explained in this species by the humidity-and temperature-controlled stomatal response. This stomatal regulation leads to a decreasing total daily transpirational water loss on a dry day as compared to a moist one. The significance of this controlling mechanism for the primary production and the water relations of P. armeniaca is discussed.

Notes: Summary In a previous paper seasonal shifts of the temperature optimum (OP) and of the upper temperature compensation point (CP) of net photosynthesis were described for Hammada scoparia growing wild, and for Prunus armeniaca cultivated in the Negev Desert (Israel). In this paper the relationships between these shifts and the microclimatic conditions, plant-water relations, and plant development are studied. The energy budged of the thin, round photosynthesizing stems of H. scoparia growing in an open desert habitat differes from that of the broad leaves of P. armeniaca within the orchard. This explains the fact that daily maximum temperatures of the apricot increased until August and September, whereas maximum temperatures of H. scoparia reached a peak in May and June and decreased thereafter during the second half of the growing season. For H. scoparia a correspondence was found between the daily maximum tissue temperatures (and also the average temperatures of the warmest periods of the day) and the seasonal changes of the OP and CP values. This may indicate that the shifts in the temperature sensitivity of net photosynthesis of this plant are adaptations to the temperature conditions of the plant. This, however, cannot be the case for P. armeniaca, where during the second part of the growing season a period of rising leaf temperatures coincides with a period of decreasing OP and CP values. Therefore, the seasonal changes of the temperature dependence of net photosynthesis of P. armeniaca could not always be considered an adaptation to the prevailing temperature conditions of the plant. In this case, the changes in temperature sensitivity of photosynthesis could be due to developmental processes such as aging. In both lants the seasonal changes of the OP and CP values correspond to changes of the daily photoperiod and to changes of the daily average light intensity. It appears possible that this correlation indicates a causal relationship.

Notes: Summary The gas exchange of the apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) growing in the runoff farm at Avdat (Negev, Israel) was measured during its growing period using temperature- and humidity-controlled chambers. Water potentials of the xylem were measured with a pressure bomb, and the mesophyll internal CO2 concentration was calculated from simultaneous measurements of net photosynthesis and transpiration. The daily changes in water potential Ψ had only little effect on the daily course of stomatal resistance. The early morning peak of CO2 uptake was reached when Ψ had already dropped to very low values. On dry days, Ψ and the relative water content of the leaf were improved at noon during the time of stomatal closure. On humid days, Ψ dropped to very low values (43.5 bar) at a high transpiration rate without causing stomatal closure, as much as on the dry days when stomata where more closed at less water stress. The observed changing sensitivity of the stomata to changes in air humidity during the season is related to the water status in the plant. This change is possibly caused by a long-term effect of stress in this habitat. The daily changes in stomatal diffusion resistance did not consistently correlate with changes of the CO2 concentration in the intercellular air spaces. In the morning a decreasing internal CO2 concentration was even inversely correlated to the stomatal response. In the afternoon the effect of an increasing internal CO2 concentration and the effect of external climate on stomatal response could be additive. However, at the time, when CO2 uptake reached a second peak in the afternoon the same value of diffusion resistance is reached at very different levels of internal CO2 concentration as compared to the morning. For the regulation of the diffusion resistance in apricot under the natural conditions, the effects of plant internal control mechanisms are overruled and/or modified by the external climatic factors of air humidity and temperature. The significance of the climate-controlled stomatal response for the existence and cultivation of this plant species in an arid habitat is discussed.

Notes: Summary During the dry season in the Negev desert (Israel) Artemisia herbaalba in its natural habitat has a very low water content. It shows values of negative hydrostatic pressure in the xylem down to -163 bars and an extreme of osmotic potential in the leaves of -92 bars. The diurnal water stress does not decrease strongly in the night. Under these conditions Artemisia is still photosynthetically active for a few hours of the day during the whole dry period.

Notes: Summary A digital registration system used with temperature- and humidity-controlled cuvettes for net photosynthesis and transpiration measurements in the field is described. The associated errors of the measured parameters and calculated data are estimated. The digitalization is based on an analogue registration which is of primary importance in the control of experimental conditions in the cuvettes. The digital system is connected to the analogue registration in series. The error associated with digitalization is 0.1% across 70% of the scale. This error increases to 0.2% between 3 and 30% on the scale due to a minor lack of linearity. The reproducibility of the digitalization is ±0.024%. The error associated with data transfer in the digitalization and the errors of the analogue registration are estimated for temperature and humidity measurements (error of air and leaf temperature is ±0.1° C; error of the dew point temperature is ±1.1° C dew point). The effect of these errors on the calculation of relative humidity and the water vapour difference between the leaf and the air is determined using the progressive error law. At 30° C and 50% relative humidity, the error in relative humidity is ±7.4%, the error for the water vapour difference is ±6.6%. The dependence of these errors on temperature and humidity is shown. The instrument error of the net photosynthesis measurement is calculated to be ±4.2%. Transpiration measurements have an average inaccuracy of ±8.3%. The total diffusion resistance which is calculated from values of transpiration and the water vapour difference has an average error of ±10.9%. The sizeable influence of errors in humidity and temperature measurements on the calculated diffusion resistance is demonstrated. The additional influence of biological errors associated with field measurements is discussed.

Notes: Summary Temperature dependence of net photosynthesis under conditions of light saturation and maximum air humidity was measured throughout the season in the Central Negev Desert (Israel). Experimental plants were the wild growing Hammada scoparia and Prunus armeniaca cultivated in the runoff farm of Avdat. The optimum temperature for net photosynthesis and the upper temperature compensation point of CO2 exchange showed a characteristic seasonal variation with low values in spring and fall and high values in mid-summer. This shift was exhibited by plants growing under conditions of normal soil-water stress as well as by irrigated plants. There was no general correlation between the changes in temperature dependence of net photosynthesis of the plants, their maximum photosynthetic capacity under the experimental conditions, their daily photosynthesis maximum under natural conditions, and their rate of dark respiration. The seasonal shift of the photosynthetic response to temperature cannot be explained by changes in the temperature sensitivity of the stomata. It may be caused by seasonal changes of biochemical and/or biophysical properties. A number of observations made on other wild plants also showed, in all cases, seasonal shifts of the upper temperature compensation point, with an amplitude of 6.0°C–13.7°C.

Notes: Summary Measurements of CO2 and water vapor exchange were performed on Prunus armeniaca L. with humidity- and temperature-controlled chambers under the climatic conditions of a desert habitat. In apricot, the stomatal response to changes in temperature and water-vapor concentration difference between leaf and air (WD) significantly determined the rates of gas exchange during the day (parts I and II). The effect of climate-controlled stomatal response on the transpiration/net photosynthesis (T/P)-ratio was analyzed and simulated using experiments conducted at constant temperature and/or humidity conditions for input parameters. The measured values of the T/P-ratio at naturally varying conditions of humidity and temperature were compared with calculated results of a model in which it was assumed, (1) that stomata and photosynthetic activity are not affected by air humidity and temperature, (2) that the stomata only respond with a constant photosynthetic activity to changes in WD, and (3) that the stomata respond to both, leaf temperature and air humidity with a constant photosynthetic activity. These simulations facilitated an analysis of the naturally observed changes in the T/P-ratio. The calculated T/P-ratios were very small if the simulation assumed that stomata only respond to WD at a constant photosynthetic activity. These low predicted values of the T/P-ratio were not obtained under natural conditions, since an increase in WD during the day was correlated with a temperature rise which tended to open stomata and change the photosynthetic activity. Humidity induced stomatal closure did appear to substantially reduce T/P-ratios. The measured T/P-ratio changed considerably during the year. The lowest T/P-ratios were obtained in the middle of the dry season at a time when stomata responded strongly to air humidity and when optimum of photosynthesis was reached at high temperatures. The daily average T/P-ratio calculated from the daily sum of P and T showed little change during the seasons. A high T/P-ratio was also observed at reduced rates of gas exchange. The T/P-ratios of apricot were compared with different species in different environments.

Notes: Summary Previous publications have reported on investigations of CO2 exchange in the desert lichenRamalina maciformis both in its natural habitat in the Negev and in the laboratory. Utilizing laboratory data, net photosynthesis and dark respiration were expressed as mathematical functions of the most important environmental factors. Based on these relationships, a model is developed that allows one to predict CO2 exchange of the plant. Input data are light intensity, temperature, and water content of the thallus, together with a measure of the rate of the seasonal change of photosynthetic and respiratory activity. The validity of the model is tested by comparing simulated daily courses of CO2 uptake and release of the lichen with independent results of CO2 exchange measurements conducted in the field during and after the condensation of dew. The sensitivity of the model is shown by simulating changes in the input data of temperature and water content of the lichen.

Notes: Summary Biomass distribution and diurnal CO2 uptake under natural conditions were investigated on Picea abies in a mountainous climate (Solling, Northwest Germany). Spruce has a remarkable variability in leaf characteristics. Even on a single branch in the lower sun crown, needle dry weight and surface area change considerably from the branch base to the tip and accoring to exposure. Only about 18% of the total biomass of the tree was current year's growth, about 40% of the needles were 4 years and older reaching a maximal age of 12 years. The main growing zone was at the border of upper shade and lower sun crown and the main accumulation of dry weight was at a greater tree height than was observed for maximal growth of needle numbers or surface area. The annual, new growth shifted toward the upper sun crown. Maximal daily CO2 uptake was highest in the lower sun crown on days with variable cloud cover when temperatures were moderate and water vapor pressure deficits were low. Also the annual CO2 uptake was highest in the lower sun crown, where 4-year-old and older needles contributed about 35% to the annual CO2 uptake of the tree. Current year growth contributed about 15% of the total CO2 gain. The upper and lower sun crowns produce about 70% of the total carbon gain. The carbon balance of spruce and the distribution of the production process in relation to needle age and crown level are discussed.