Photosynthetic plasticity of a tropical tree species, Tabebuia rosea, in response to elevated temperature and [CO2]

Atmospheric and climate change will expose tropical forests to conditions they have not experienced in millions of years. To better understand the consequences of this change, we studied photosynthetic acclimation of the neotropical tree species Tabebuia rosea to combined 4 degrees C warming and twice-ambient (800 ppm) CO2. We measured temperature responses of the maximum rates of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylation (V-CMax), photosynthetic electron transport (J(Max)), net photosynthesis (P-Net), and stomatal conductance (g(s)), and fitted the data using a probabilistic Bayesian approach. To evaluate short-term acclimation plants were then switched between treatment and control conditions and re-measured after 1-2 weeks. Consistent with acclimation, the optimum temperatures (T-Opt) for V-CMax, J(Max) and P-Net were 1-5 degrees C higher in treatment than in control plants, while photosynthetic capacity (V-CMax, J(Max), and P-Net at T-Opt) was 8-25% lower. Likewise, moving control plants to treatment conditions moderately increased temperature optima and decreased photosynthetic capacity. Stomatal density and sensitivity to leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficit were not affected by growth conditions, and treatment plants did not exhibit stronger stomatal limitations. Collectively, these results illustrate the strong photosynthetic plasticity of this tropical tree species as even fully developed leaves of saplings transferred to extreme conditions partially acclimated.

Automated summary

In response to climate change, tropical tree species exhibit a certain degree of photosynthetic plasticity, with even fully developed leaves of saplings being able to partially acclimate to extreme conditions.