ISSN:
1365-3040
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract. Seasonal changes in photosynthesis, leaf nitrogen (N) contents and leaf mass per area (LMA) were observed over three growing seasons in open-grown sun-lit leaves of red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (A. sacchamm) and northern pin oak (Quereus ellipsoidalis) trees in southern Wisconsin. Net photosynthesis and leaf N were highly linearly correlated on both mass and area bases within all species from late spring until leaf senescence in fall. Very early in the growing season leaves had high N concentrations, but low photosynthetic rates per unit leaf N, suggesting that leaves were not fully functionally developed at that time. Leaf N per unit area and LMA had nonparallel seasonal patterns, resulting in differing relationships between leaf N/area and LMA in the “early versus late growing season. As a result of differences in seasonal patterns between leaf N/area and LMA, net photosynthesis/area was higher for a given LMA in the spring than fall, and the overall relationships between these two parameters were poor.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.1991.tb01499.x
