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CO 2 transfer conductance, leaf structure and carbon isotope composition of Polygonum cuspidatum leaves from low and high altitudes
Author(s) -
Kogami H.,
Hanba Y. T.,
Kibe T.,
Terashima I.,
Masuzawa T.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3040.2001.00696.x
Subject(s) - botany , herbaceous plant , biology , chloroplast , stomatal density , stomatal conductance , photosynthesis , specific leaf area , dry weight , δ13c , isotopes of carbon , horticulture , total organic carbon , stable isotope ratio , ecology , biochemistry , gene , physics , quantum mechanics
Anatomy and some physiological characteristics of the leaves in Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc., a dioecious clonal herb, were compared between two populations, one from a lowland in Shizuoka City (10 m above sea level), and another from a highland on Mt. Fuji (2500 m above sea level). Leaf mass per area (LMA) of the highland plants was about twice that of the lowland plants. The greater leaf thickness, thicker mesophyll cell walls and higher mesophyll cell density in the highland leaves contributed to the larger LMA. Although mesophyll area exposed to intercellular airspaces was greater in the highland leaves than in the lowland leaves by 30%, the surface area of chloroplasts facing intercellular airspaces was similar between these leaves. CO 2 transfer conductance inside the leaf ( g i ) of the highland leaves (0·75 μmol m − 2 s − 1 Pa − 1 ) is the lowest recorded for herbaceous plants and was only 40% of that in the lowland leaves. On the other hand, the difference in stomatal conductance was small. δ 13 C values in the leaf dry matter were greater in the highland leaves by 4‰. These data and the estimation of CO 2 partial pressures in the intercellular air spaces and in the chloroplast suggested that the greater dry matter δ 13 C in the highland leaves, indicative of lower long‐term ratio of the chloroplast stroma to the ambient CO 2 partial pressures, would be mainly attributed to their lower g i .