Abstract: Differences in photosynthetic capacity among tree species and tree functional types are currently assumed to be largely driven by variation in leaf nutrient content, particularly nitrogen (N). However, recent studies indicate that leaf N content is often a poor predictor of variation in photosynthetic capacity in tropical trees. In this study, we explored the relative importance of area-based total leaf N content (Ntot) and within-leaf N allocation to photosynthetic capacity versus light-harvesting in controlling the variation in photosynthetic capacity (i.e. Vcmax, Jmax) among mature trees of 12 species belonging to either early (ES) or late successional (LS) groups growing in a tropical montane rainforest in Rwanda, Central Africa. Photosynthetic capacity at a common leaf temperature of 25˚C (i.e. maximum rates of Rubisco carboxylation, Vcmax25 and of electron transport, Jmax25) was higher in ES than in LS species (+ 58% and 68% for Vcmax25 and Jmax25, respectively). While Ntot did not significantly differ between successional groups, the photosynthetic dependency on Ntot was markedly different. In ES species, Vcmax25 was strongly and positively related to Ntot but this was not the case in LS species. However, there was no significant trade-off between relative leaf N investments in compounds maximizing photosynthetic capacity versus compounds maximizing light harvesting. Both leaf dark respiration at 25˚C (+ 33%) and, more surprisingly, apparent photosynthetic quantum yield (+ 35%) was higher in ES than in LS species. Moreover, Rd25 was positively related to Ntot for both ES and LS species. Our results imply that efforts to quantify carbon fluxes of tropical montane rainforests would be improved if they considered contrasting within-leaf N allocation and photosynthetic Ntot dependencies between species with different successional strategies. © Copyright © 2020 Ziegler, Dusenge, Nyirambangutse, Zibera, Wallin and Uddling.

Abstract: Plant species may remain morphologically distinct despite gene exchange with congeners, yet little is known about the genomewide pattern of introgression among species. Here we analyze the effects of persistent gene flow on genomic differentiation between the sympatric sunflower species Helianthus annuus and H. petiolaris. While the species are strongly isolated in testcrosses, genetic distances at 108 microsatellite loci and 14 sequenced genes are highly variable and much lower (on average) than for more closely related but historically allopatric congeners. Our analyses failed to detect a positive association between levels of genetic differentiation and chromosomal rearrangements (as reported in a prior publication) or proximity to QTL for morphological differences or hybrid sterility. However, a significant increase in differentiation was observed for markers within 5 cM of chromosomal breakpoints. Together, these results suggest that islands of differentiation between these two species are small, except in areas of low recombination. Furthermore, only microsatellites associated with ESTs were identified as outlier loci in tests for selection, which might indicate that the ESTs themselves are the targets of selection rather than linked genes (or that coding regions are not randomly distributed). In general, these results indicate that even strong and genetically complex reproductive barriers cannot prevent widespread introgression.

Abstract: Tree steins shrink in diameter during the day and swell during the night in response to changes in water tension in the xylem. Stein shrinkage can easily be measured in a nondestructive way, to derive continuous information about tree water status. The relationship between the strain and the change in water tension can be evaluated by empirical calibrations, or can be related to the structure of the plant. A mechanical analysis was performed to make this relationship explicit. The stem is modeled as a cylinder made of multiple layers of tissues, including heartwood, sapwood, and inner and outer bark. The effect of changes in water tension on the apparent strain at the surface of a tissue is quantified as a function of parameters defining stem anatomy and the mechanical properties of the tissues. Various possible applications in the context of tree physiology are suggested.

Abstract: Variability of leaf traits related to photosynthesis was assessed in seedlings from 14 tree species growing in the tropical rain forest of French Guiana. Leaf photosynthetic capacity (maximum rate of carboxylation and maximum rate of electron transport) was estimated by fitting a biochemical model of photosynthesis to response curves of net CO2 assimilation rate versus intercellular CO2 mole fraction. Leaf morphology described by leaf mass per unit leaf area (LMA), density and thickness, as well as area- and mass-based nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) concentrations, were recorded on the same leaves. Large interspecific variability was detected in photosynthetic capacity as well as in leaf structure and leaf N and C concentrations. No correlation was found between leaf thickness and density. The correlations between area- and mass-based leaf N concentration and photosynthetic capacity were poor. Conversely, the species differed greatly in relative N allocation to carboxylation and bioenergetics. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that, of the recorded traits, only the computed fraction of total leaf N invested in photosynthesis was tightly correlated to photosynthetic capacity. We also used PCA to test to what extent species with similar shade tolerances displayed converging leaf traits related to photosynthesis. No clear-cut ranking could be detected among the shade-tolerant groups, as confirmed by a one-way ANOVA. We conclude that the large interspecific diversity in photosynthetic capacity was mostly explained by differences in the relative allocation of N to photosynthesis and not by leaf N concentration, and that leaf traits related to photosynthetic capacity did not discriminate shade-tolerance ranking of these tropical tree species.

Abstract: In beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), the number of leaf primordia preformed in the buds determines the length and the type (long versus short) of annual growth units, and thus, branch growth and architecture. We analyzed the correlation between the number of leaf primordia and the hydraulic conductance of the vascular system connected to the buds. Terminal buds of short growth units and axillary buds of long growth units on lower branches of mature trees were examined. Buds with less than four and more than five leaf primordia formed short and long growth units, respectively. Irrespective of the type of growth unit the bud was formed on, the occurrence of a large number of leaf primordia was associated with high xylem hydraulic conductance. Xylem conductance was correlated to the area of the outermost annual ring. These results suggest that organogenesis and primary growth in buds correlates with secondary growth of the growth units and thus with their hydraulic architecture. Possible causal relationships between the variables are discussed.