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Responses of leaf water relations and photosynthesis to summer drought and autumn rewetting were studied in two evergreen Mediterranean oak species, Quercus ilex spp. rotundifolia and Quercus suber. The predawn leaf water potential (ΨlPD), stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthetic rate (A) at ambient conditions were measured seasonally over a 3-year period. We also measured the photosynthetic response to light and to intercellular CO2 (A/PPFD and A/Ci response curves) under water stress (summer) and after recovery due to autumn rainfall. Photosynthetic parameters, Vcmax, Jmax and triose phosphate utilization (TPU) rate, were estimated using the Farquhar model. RuBisCo activity, leaf chlorophyll, leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf carbohydrate concentration were also measured. All measurements were performed in the spring leaves of the current year. In both species, the predawn leaf water potential, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate peaked in spring, progressively declined throughout the summer and recovered upon autumn rainfall. During the drought period, Q. ilex maintained a higher predawn leaf water potential and stomatal conductance than Q. suber. During this period, we found that photosynthesis was not only limited by stomatal closure, but was also downregulated as a consequence of a decrease in the maximum carboxylation rate (Vcmax) and the light-saturated rate of photosynthetic electron transport (Jmax) in both species. The Vcmax and Jmax increased after the first autumnal rains and this increase was related to RuBisCo activity, leaf nitrogen concentration and chlorophyll concentration. In addition, an increase in the TPU rate and in soluble leaf sugar concentration was observed in this period. The results obtained indicate a high resilience of the photosynthetic apparatus to summer drought as well as good recovery in the following autumn rains of these evergreen oak species. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Most thermal methods for the study of drought responses in plant leaves are based on the calculation of ‘stress indices’. This paper proposes and compares three main extensions of these for the direct estimation of absolute values of stomatal conductance to water vapour ( gs) using infrared thermography (IRT). All methods use the measured leaf temperature and two environmental variables (air temperature and boundary layer resistance) as input. Additional variables required, depending on the method, are the temperatures of wet and dry reference surfaces, net radiation and relative humidity. The methods were compared using measured gs data from a vineyard in Southern Portugal. The errors in thermal estimates of conductance were of the same order as the measurement errors using a porometer. Observed variability was also compared with theoretical estimates of errors in estimated gs determined on the basis of the errors in the input variables (leaf temperature, boundary layer resistance, net radiation) and the partial derivatives of the energy balance equations used for the gs calculations. The full energy balance approach requires accurate estimates of net radiation absorbed, which may not be readily available in field conditions, so alternatives using reference surfaces are shown to have advantages. A new approach using a dry reference leaf is particularly robust and recommended for those studies where the specific advantages of thermal imagery, including its non-contact nature and its ability to sample large numbers of leaves, are most apparent. Although the results suggest that estimates of the absolute magnitude of gs are somewhat subjective, depending on the skill of the experimenter at selecting evenly exposed leaves, relative treatment differences in conductance are sensitively detected by different experimenters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic light acclimation of leaves can result from (i) changes in mass-based leaf nitrogen concentration, Nm, (ii) changes in leaf mass:area ratio, Ma, and (iii) partitioning of total leaf nitrogen among different pools of the photosynthetic machinery. We studied variations in Nm and Ma within the crowns of two peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) trees grown in an orchard in Portugal, and one peach tree grown in an orchard in France. Each crown was digitized and a 3-D radiation transfer model was used to quantify the intra-crown variations in time-integrated leaf irradiance, . Nitrogen concentration, leaf mass:area ratio, chlorophyll concentration, and photosynthetic capacity were also measured on leaves sampled on five additional peach trees in the orchard in Portugal. The data were used to compute the coefficients of leaf nitrogen partitioning among carboxylation, bioenergetics, and light harvesting pools. Leaf mass:area ratio and area-based leaf nitrogen concentration, Na, were nonlinearly related to , and photosynthetic capacity was linearly related to Na. Photosynthetic light acclimation resulted mainly from changes in Ma and leaf nitrogen partitioning, and to a lesser extent from changes in Nm. This behavior contrasts with photosynthetic light acclimation observed in other tree species like walnut (Juglans regia L.) in which acclimation results primarily from changes in Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas exchange characteristics of leaves of Vitis vinifera L. cvs Tinta Amarela and Periquita, two grapevine cultivars grown in distinct climatic regions of Portugal, were studied under natural and controlled conditions. Daily time courses of gas exchange were measured on both a hot, sunny day and a cooler, partly cloudy day. Responses of net photosynthesis to irradiance and internal partial pressure of CO2 were also obtained. A strong correlation between net photosynthesis (PN) and leaf conductance (gs) was found during the diurnal time courses of gas exchange, as well as a relatively constant internal partial pressure of CO2 (pi) even under non-steady-state conditions. On the cloudless day, both PN and gs were lower in the afternoon than in the morning, despite similar conditions of leaf temperature, air to leaf water vapor deficit and irradiance. The response curves of net photosynthesis to internal CO2 showed linearity up to pi values of 50 Pa, possibly indicating a substantial excess of photosynthetic capacity. When measured at low partial pressures of O2 (1 kPa), PN became inhibited at high CO2 levels. Inhibition of PN at high CO2 was absent under normal levels of O2 (21 kPa). Significant differences in gas exchange characteristics were found between the two cultivars, with T. Amarela having higher rates under similar measurement conditions. In particular, the superior performance of T. Amarela at high temperatures may represent adaptation to the warmer conditions at its place of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences In maximum leaf conductance in grapevine plants growing In soils with contrasting water availabilities during mid-summer in Portugal could be accounted for by differences in the concentration of ABA in xylem sap. This conclusion is reinforced by the observation that the relationship between leaf conductance and endogenous ABA concentration can be mimicked by the application of exogenous ABA to leaves detached from Irrigated plants. During the day, leaf conductance decreased after a morning peak, even when the leaves remained in a constant environment at a moderate temperature and leaf-to-air vapour pressure difference. This decline in leaf conductance was not a consequence of an Increase In the xylem ABA concentration or the rate of delivery of this compound by the transpiratory stream. The afternoon depression in leaf conductance was associated with an apparent limitation In stomatal opening potential, which persisted even when detached leaves were fed with water and rehydrated. The reason for this Inhibition has still to be Identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal changes in pigment composition of sun and shade leaves of cork oak (Quercus suber) were studied under field conditions in Portugal. Expanding leaves showed a high concentration of xanthophyll cycle components, violaxanthin, antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin. The pool of violaxanthin plus antheraxanthin plus zeaxanthin (V + A + Z) varied greatly between the seasons, being higher at the end of summer and in winter when photosynthesis was limited by water stress and cold, respectively. The size of V + A + Z pool was associated to synthesis of zeaxanthin in response to an excess of light. In sun leaves, midday A + Z relative content was positively correlated with the V + A = Z pool, whereas in shade leaves A + Z decreased with leaf ageing. In both leaf types A + Z was positively correlated with the non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll a fluorescence. However, in winter NPQ did not change significantly throughout the day, whereas the (A + Z)/(V + A + Z) increased following the typical daily trend observed in other seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]