Variables of gas exchange of flag leaves and grain yield potentials of five representative winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars varied greatly across different development stages under the same management and irrigation. The cultivars with high yield potential had higher net photosynthetic rate (PN), PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) saturated photosynthetic rate (Psat), stomatal conductance (gs), and maximum apparent quantum yield of CO2 fixation (Φm,app) than those with low grain yield, but their dark respiration rate (RD) and compensation irradiance (Ic) were remarkably lower. Compared with overall increase of yield potential of 71 % from low yield cultivars to high yield ones, PN, Psat, Φm,app, and gs were 13, 19, 57, and 32 % higher, respectively; but RD and Ic decreased by 19 and 76 %, respectively. Such difference was evidently large during anthesis stage (e.g., PN by 33 %), which indicated that this period could be the best for assisting further selection for better cultivars. However, transpiration rate (E) and water use efficiency (WUE) differed only little. At different development stages, especially at anthesis, PN and Psat were positively correlated with Φm,app, gs, and yield potential, and negatively correlated with RD and Ic. Thus the high-yield-potential winter wheat cultivars possess many better characters in photosynthesis and associated parameters than the low-yield cultivars. and G. M. Jiang ... [et al.].
In Huanshandak Sandland, China, net photosynthetic rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), water use efficiency (WUE), photochemical efficiency of photosystem 2 (Fv/Fm), and leaf nitrogen content were compared for Hedysarum fruticosum var. mongolicum (H.f.m.), a nitrogen fixing shrub, and Salix gordejevii (S.g.), a nitrogen non-fixing shrub. PN, E, and gs of the two shrubs were similar in trends, i.e. two peaks were observed in diurnal courses. However, except Ci, other parameters of H.f.m. were higher during the measured days than those of S.g. The midday depression of PN was mainly due to decrease in stomata conductance and to reduction of Fv/Fm at midday. The higher PN of H.f.m. was consistent with the higher leaf N content and there was a positive relation between them. In addition, several C4 traits were found in H.f.m., i.e. high saturation irradiance and WUE, low dark respiration rate, and Ci, which partly resulted in higher PN. This seems to indicate that the C3 plant H.f.m. may have C4 photosynthesis pathway or C4 enzymes. and S. L. Niu ... [et al.].
Field studies of gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence of three desert shrub species, Hedysarum fruticosum var. mongolicum, Artemisia ordosia, and Salix pasmmophylla, showed different patterns under different leaf temperature (T1) and incident photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). H. fruticosum var. mongolicum and A. ordosia exhibited higher PN and gs than S. pasmmophylla, especially under very high T1 (>46 °C) and high PPFD (>2 100 µmol m-2 s-1) in hot summer. The decreases of PN with the diurnal course were due mainly to stomata closure. However, PN of S. pasmmophylla was seriously depressed by very high temperature from midday to evening as shown by the negative PN in hot summer, whereas none of such depression was found in spring. Maximal spring photochemical efficiency of photosystem 2 (PS2), i.e, Fv/Fm, was the lowest at 16:00, indicating the injury of PS2 by heat at this stage. In hot summer again, all the three shrubs underwent pronounced midday depression of PN and gs, while in spring they showed a one-peak response. And the first peak appeared 2 h earlier in hot summer than in spring for all the three shrubs. It was the high temperature that led to the different patterns of gas exchange and the serious depression of PN in S. pasmmophylla. H. fruticosum var. mongolicum and A. ordosia were much more tolerant to heat and high irradiance than S. pasmmophylla, which fixed most of CO2 at the fast growing stage in spring. Nevertheless, in hot summer it had to survive the severe hot environment through strong respiration and storage of CO2 only in the early morning. and G. M. Jiang, G. J. Zhu.
Net photosynthetic rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), leaf water potential (ψleaf), leaf nitrogen content, and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) were compared between a typical C4 plant, Agriophyllum squarrosum and a C3 plant, Leymus chinensis, in Hunshandak Sandland, China. The plant species showed different diurnal gas exchange patterns on June 12-14 when photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), air temperature (Tair), and water potential were moderate. PN, E, and
gs of A. squarrosum showed distinct single peak while those of L. chinensis were depressed at noon and had two peaks in their diurnal courses. Gas exchange traits of both species showed midday depression under higher photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and T air when Ψleaf was significantly low down on August 6-8. However, those of A. squarrosum were depressed less seriously. Moreover, A. squarrosum had higher PN, Ψleaf, water use efficiency (WUE), and PNUE than L. chinensis. Thus A. squarrosum was much more tolerant to heat and high irradiance and could utilise the resources on sand area more efficiently than L. chinensis. Hence species like A. squarrosum may be introduced and protected to reconstruct the degraded sand dunes because of their higher tolerance to stress and higher resource use efficiency. and S. L. Niu ... [et al.].
Diurnal variation of gas exchange, chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence, and xanthophyll cycle components of three maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids released in different years, i.e. Baimaya (1950s), Zhongdan2 (1970s), and Nongda108 (1990s), were compared. On cloudless days, the newer hybrids always had higher net photosynthetic rate (PN), especially at noon, than the older ones. At noon, all the hybrids decreased their maximal yield of photosystem 2 (PS2) photochemistry (Fv/Fm) and actual quantum yield of PS2 (ΦPS2), the newer ones always showing higher values. Generally, the newer hybrids displayed higher photochemical quenching of Chl (qP) and lower non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). The interhybrid differences in PN may be owing to their differential photochemical efficiency. A midday depression in P N occurred in all hybrids, which might be caused by serious photoinhibition or by decreased stomatal conductance. However, midday depression in PN was more obvious in the older hybrids, especially when leaves were senescent. The higher de-epoxidation state of the xanthophylls was noted in older hybrids, which was confirmed by their larger NPQ. The newer maize hybrids did not need a strong de-epoxidation state since they had a better photosynthetic quantum conversion rate and a lower NPQ. and L. Ding ... [et al.].
The response of gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence along with changes in simulated rainfall were studied in water stressed plants Hedysarum fruticosum var. mongolicum (H.f.m.). Net photosynthetic rate (PN), stomatal conductance (gs), leaf water potential (Ψleaf), and apparent carboxylation efficiency (PN/Ci) were significantly increased with the increase of rainfall. However, they did not change synchronously. The complete recovery of both PN and PN/Ci appeared 3 d after watering while gs and Ψleaf were recovered 1 d after treatment. Gas exchange characters increased sharply from 5 to 15 mm rainfall and then maintained steady state with increasing rainfall. During the initial phase of water recovery, photosystem 2 (PS2) activity was not affected and its complete recovery occurred also 3 d after rainfall. Hence the recovery of PN was attributed to both opening of stomata and increase in carboxylation efficiency. Furthermore, PS2 activity was really impaired by water stress and could recover to the normal status when the water stress disappeared. and S. L. Niu ... [et al.].
Only three tree species, i.e. Ulmus pumila, Malus baccata, and Prunus padus, are distributed in Hunshandak Sandland (HS) in Inner Mongolia, China. Field studies of gas exchange and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence of these three tree species were conducted in three arid periods of growth season 2002. Net photosynthetic rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), and Fv/Fm of U. pumila were higher than in M. baccata and P. padus, especially in the midday. Hence M. baccata and P. padus were more sensitive to high temperature and irradiance than U. pumila in HS. This may be a reason for wide distribution of U. pumila in HS. M. baccata and P. padus are adapted to the back slope of fixed dune, because the micro-habitat is relatively cool and less irradiated than the slope facing sun. Water use efficiency (WUE) of U. pumila was lower than that of M. baccata and P. padus, and thus U. pumila does not form forests in this region, because the soil is dry. and Y. G. Li ... [et al.].
Three winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, representatives of those widely cultivated in Beijing over the past six decades, were grown in the same environmental conditions. Net photosynthetic rate (PN) per unit leaf area and instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE) of flag leaves increased with elevated CO2 concentration. With an increase in CO2 concentration from 360 to 720 µmol mol-1, PN and WUE of Jingdong 8 (released in 1990s and having the highest yield) increased by 173 and 81 %, while those of Nongda 139 (released in 1970s) increased by 88 and 66 %, and Yanda 1817 (released in 1945, with lowest yield) by 76 and 65 %. Jingdong 8 had the highest PN and WUE values under high CO2 concentration, but Yanda 1817 showed the lowest PN. Stomatal conductance (gs) of Nongda 139 and Yanda 1817 declined with increasing CO2 concentration, but gs of Jingdong 8 firstly went down and then up as the CO2 concentration further increased. Intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) of Jingdong 8 and Nongda 139 increased when CO2 concentration elevated, while that of Yanda 139 increased at the first stage and then declined. Jingdong 8 had the lowest Ci of the three wheat cultivars, and Yanda 1817 had the highest Ci value under lower CO2 concentrations. However, Jingdong 8 had the highest PN and lowest Ci at the highest CO2 concentration which indicates that its photosynthetic potential may be high. and H. Q. Liu ... [et al.].
Gas exchange, photochemical efficiency, and leaf water potential (Ψl) of Salix matsudana (non-indigenous species), S. microstachya and S. gordejevii (indigenous species) were studied in Hunshandak Sandland, China. Ψl of all the three species decreased from 06:00 to 12:00, and increased afterwards. S. matsudana showed higher values of Ψl than others. Net photosynthetic rate (PN) and stomatal conductance (gs) of S. matsudana were the lowest among all, with the maximum PN at 10:00 being 75% of that of S. gordejevii. Compared with the indigenous species, the non-indigenous S. matsudana had also lower transpiration rate (E) and water use efficiency (WUE). The values of Fv/Fm in all the species were lower from 06:00 to 14:00 than those after 14:00, indicating an obvious depression in photochemical efficiency of photosystem 2 in both non-indigenous and native species. However, it was much more depressed in S. matsudana, the non-indigenous tree. PN was positively correlated to gs and negatively related to Ψl. The relationship between gs and vapour pressure difference (VPD) was exponential, while negative linear correlation was found between gs and Ψl. and M. Z. Liu ... [et al.].
Net photosynthetic rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), water use efficiency (WUE), stomatal conductance (gs), and stomatal limitation (Ls) were investigated in two Syringa species. The saturation irradiance (SI) was 400 µmol m-2s-1 for S. pinnatifolia and 1 700 µmol m-2s-1 for S. oblata. Compared with S. oblata, S. pinnatifolia had extremely low gs. Unlike S. oblata, the maximal photosynthetic rate (Pmax) in S. pinnatifoliaoccurred around 08:00 and then fell down, indicating this species was sensitive to higher temperature and high photosynthetic photon flux density. However, such phenomenon was interrupted by the leaf development rhythms before summer. A relatively lower PN together with a lower leaf area and shoot growth showed the capacity for carbon assimilation was poorer in S. pinnatifolia. and H. X. Cui ... [et al.].