Authors: Hui Tang YuanYuan Hu WeiWu Yu LiLi Song JiaSheng Wu
Publish Date: 2015/03/05
Volume: 29, Issue: 4, Pages: 1011-1022
Abstract
Light is a critical factor that affects the survival and early growth of tree seedlings Torreya grandis an economically important subtropical plant is a shadepreferring species however the optimum light intensity for the growth of this species was still unclear To determine the optimum light intensity we examined the growth chlorophyll fluorescence gas exchange and chloroplast ultrastructure of T grandis seedlings growing under four levels of shade ie 0 50 75 and 90 The results showed that T grandis attained the greatest Pn and biomass when cultivated with 75 shade Seedlings grown under 75 shade exhibited a 155 increase in the height increment a 440 increase in the diameter increment a 422 increase in biomass and a 102 increase in the photosynthetic rate compared with seedlings grown in full sun Moreover 75 shaded plants had the lowest antioxidant enzyme activities malondialdehyde content and ion leakage Full sunlight and 50 shade significantly reduced the growth of T grandis which was associated with a decrease in the maximal photochemical efficiency photosynthetic rate chlorophyll content and biomass compared with those under 75 shade Compared with the 75 shaded plants seedlings grown under 90 shade had a reduced photosynthetic rate which was accompanied by increased malondialdehyde content relative electrolyte conductivity and antioxidant enzymes activities suggesting that seedlings under the 90 shade had the lower energy utilizing capacity Higher antioxidant enzyme activities might be an efficient adaptation to protection against oxidative stress under low light conditions Therefore our results indicate that 75 shade is likely the optimum light irradiance level for T grandis seedling growthThis work was funded by the Fruit Innovation Team Project of Zhejiang Province 2009R500337 the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China LZ12C16001 the Major Project of National Spark Plan of China 2012GA700001 the Launching Funds for Zhejiang AF University 2013FR063 and the open project funds for forestry discipline in Zhejiang province KF201312
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