title: Leaf-level photosynthetic capacity in lowland Amazonian and high-elevation Andean tropical moist forests of Peru.
abstract: We examined whether variations in photosynthetic capacity are linked to variations in the environment and/or associated leaf traits for tropical moist forests (TMFs) in the Andes/western Amazon regions of Peru. We compared photosynthetic capacity (maximal rate of carboxylation of Rubisco (Vcmax), and the maximum rate of electron transport (Jmax)), leaf mass, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) per unit leaf area (Ma, Naand Pa, respectively), and chlorophyll from 210 species at 18 field sites along a 3300-m elevation gradient. Western blots were used to quantify the abundance of the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco. Area- and N-based rates of photosynthetic capacity at 25°C were higher in upland than lowland TMFs, underpinned by greater investment of N in photosynthesis in high-elevation trees. Soil [P] and leaf Pawere key explanatory factors for models of area-based Vcmaxand Jmaxbut did not account for variations in photosynthetic N-use efficiency. At any given Naand Pa, the fraction of N allocated to photosynthesis was higher in upland than lowland species. For a small subset of lowland TMF trees examined, a substantial fraction of Rubisco was inactive. These results highlight the importance of soil- and leaf-P in defining the photosynthetic capacity of TMFs, with variations in N allocation and Rubisco activation state further influencing photosynthetic rates and N-use efficiency of these critically important forests.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Nur H A
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Bahar
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: F Yoko
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Lasantha K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Weerasinghe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Edificio C, 08290, Cerdanyola, Barcelona Spain.|School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JN, UK.
authors.forename: Rossella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guerrieri
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Odhran S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Keith J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bloomfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Asner
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Roberta E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia.|Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.affiliation: Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
authors.forename: Yadvinder
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Malhi
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS9 2JT, UK.
authors.forename: Oliver L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JN, UK.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meir
authors.affiliation: Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.|Seccion Quimica, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Av Universitaria 1801, San Miguel, Lima, Perú.
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Salinas
authors.affiliation: Seccion Quimica, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Av Universitaria 1801, San Miguel, Lima, Perú.
authors.forename: Eric G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Cosio
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Domingues
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Quesada
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sinca
authors.affiliation: Seccion Quimica, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Av Universitaria 1801, San Miguel, Lima, Perú.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Escudero Vega
authors.affiliation: Escuela Profesional de Biologia, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av de la Cultura, No. 733, Cusco, Perú.
authors.forename: Paola P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Zuloaga Ccorimanya
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), Av. José A. Quiñones km. 2.5, Apartado Postal 784, Iquitos, Perú.|School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
authors.forename: Jhon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Del Aguila-Pasquel
authors.affiliation: Escuela Profesional de Biologia, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av de la Cultura, No. 733, Cusco, Perú.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Quispe Huaypar
authors.affiliation: Escuela Profesional de Biologia, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av de la Cultura, No. 733, Cusco, Perú.
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cuba Torres
authors.affiliation: Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av de la Cultura, No. 733, Cusco, Perú.
authors.forename: Rosalbina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Butrón Loayza
authors.affiliation: Escuela Profesional de Biologia, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av de la Cultura, No. 733, Cusco, Perú.
authors.forename: Yulina
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pelaez Tapia
authors.affiliation: Escuela Profesional de Biologia, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av de la Cultura, No. 733, Cusco, Perú.
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huaman Ovalle
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Building 134, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Benedict M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4616-2967
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Building 134, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Building 134, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Owen K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Atkin
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D057075:Enzyme Assays; D065928:Forests; D006813:Humidity; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010568:Peru; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D013696:Temperature; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: carboxylation capacity; elevation; leaf traits; nitrogen (N); phosphorus (P); ribulose bisphosphate regeneration; temperature; tropical forests