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Prediction of Net Photosynthesis of Trees From Light Intensity and Temperature
Author(s) -
Botkin D. B.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1933699
Subject(s) - sunlight , photosynthesis , environmental science , botany , light intensity , biology , ecology , atmospheric sciences , geology , physics , optics , astronomy
Daily rates of net photosynthesis of tree leaves were predicted from sunlight and temperature conditions near leaf surfaces for oaks in a coastal plain forest on Long Island, New York. Predictions were based on the observed relationships between CO 2 uptake, sunlight, and temperature for a single sun—exposed white oak leaf during a single day in midsummer. Of 18 such predictions, including those for white oak leaves in a variety of weather conditions at shaded, exposed, apical, and basal locations, eight were within a factor of 0.1 of observed values, 15 within 0.7 to 1.3, and all within a factor of two of the observations. The same relationship predicted net photosynthesis for scarlet oak leaves in the same forest with similar success. The uniformity of the response of these leaves to sunlight and temperature reflects the simple of the coastal plain forest, which is low and open and lacks deep shade.