In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 8, No. 1 ( 2018-05-09)
Abstract:
Leaf photosynthetic capacity is mainly constrained by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Little attention has been given to the photosynthetic capacity of mature forests with high calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the Karst critical zone. We measured light-saturated net photosynthesis ( A sat ), photosynthetic capacity (maximum carboxylation rate [ V cmax ], and maximum electron transport rate [ J max ]) as well as leaf nutrient contents (N, P, Ca, Mg, potassium [K] , and sodium [Na]), leaf mass per area ( LMA ), and leaf thickness ( LT ) in 63 dominant plants in a mature subtropical forest in the Karst critical zone in southwestern China. Compared with global data, plants showed higher A sat for a given level of P. V cmax and J max were mainly co-regulated by N, P, Mg, and LT . The ratios of V cmax to N or P, and J max to N or P were significantly positively related to Mg. We speculate that the photosynthetic capacity of Karst plants can be modified by Mg because Mg can enhance photosynthetic N and P use efficiency.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-018-25839-1
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
