Seasonal changes in water relations, net photosynthetic rate (PN), and fluorescence of chlorophyll (Chl) a of two perennial C3 deciduous shrubs, Ipomoea carnea and Jatropha gossypifolia, growing in a thorn scrub in Venezuela were studied in order to establish the possible occurrence of photoinhibition during dry season and determine whether changes in photochemical activity of photosystem 2 (PS2) may explain variations of PN in these species. Leaf water potential (ψ) decreased from -0.2 to -2.1 MPa during drought in both species. The PN decreased with ψ in I. carnea and J. gossypifolia by 64 and 74 %, respectively. Carboxylation efficiency (CE) decreased by more than 50 and 70 % in I. carnea and J. gossypifolia, respectively. In I. carnea, relative stomatal limitation (Ls) increased by 17 % and mesophyll limitation (Lm) by 65 % during drought, while in J. gossypifolia Ls decreased by 27 % and Lm increased by 51 %. Drought caused a reduction in quantum yield of PS2 (ϕPS2) in both species. Drought affected the capacity of energy dissipation of leaves, judging from the changes in the photochemical (qP) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) coefficients. Photoinhibition during drought in I. carnea and J. gossypifolia was evidenced in the field by a drop in the maximum quantum yield of PS2 (Fv/Fm) below 0.8 and also by non-coordinated changes in ϕPS2 and quantum yield of non-photochemical excitation quenching (Yn). Total soluble protein content on an area basis increased with ψ but the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase content remained unchanged. A reduction of total Chl content with drought was observed. Hence in the species studied photoinhibition occurred, which imposed an important limitation on carbon assimilation during drought. and W. Tezara ... [et al.].
In order to determine whether stomatal closure alone regulates photosynthesis during drought under natural conditions, seasonal changes in leaf gas exchange were studied in plants of five species differing in life form and carbon fixation pathway growing in a thorn scrub in Venezuela. The species were: Ipomoea carnea, Jatropha gossypifolia, (C3 deciduous shrubs), Alternanthera crucis (C4 deciduous herb), and Prosopis juliflora and Capparis odoratissima (evergreen phreatophytic trees). Xylem water potential (Ψ) of all species followed very roughly the precipitation pattern, being more closely governed by soil water content in I. carnea and A. crucis. Maximum rate of photosynthesis, Pmax, decreased with Ψ in I. carnea, J. gossypifolia, and A. crucis. In I. carnea and J. gossypifolia stomatal closure was responsible for a 90 % decline in net photosynthetic rate (PN) as Ψ decreased from -0.3 to -2.0 MPa, since stomatal conductance (gs) was sensitive to water stress, and stomatal limitation on PN increased with drought. In A. crucis, PN decreased by 90 % at a much lower Ψ (-9.3 MPa), and gs was relatively less sensitive to Ψ. In P. juliflora and C. odoratissima, Pmax, gs, and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) were independent of soil water content. In the C3 shrubs stomatal closure was apparently the main constraint on photosynthesis during drought, Ci declining with Ψ in I. carnea. In the C4 herb, Ci was constant along the range of Ψ values, which suggested a coordinated decrease in both gs and mesophyll capacity. In P. juliflora Ci showed a slow decrease with Ψ which may have been due to seasonal leaf developmental changes, rather than to soil water availability. and W. Tezara ... [et al.].