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Growth and photosynthesis of Aechmea magdalenae, a terrestrial CAM plant in a tropical moist forest, Panama

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

William A. Pfitsch  and
Alan P. Smith
William A. Pfitsch
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Aptdo 2072, Balboa, Republica de Panamá
Alan P. Smith
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Aptdo 2072, Balboa, Republica de Panamá
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Abstract

Aechmea magdalenae is a terrestrial bromeliad that dominates areas of forest understorey on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Nocturnal CO2 uptake via crassulacean acid metabolism was the primary means of carbon gain under well-watered conditions and all light regimes. The ability to maintain a positive carbon balance under conditions of very low light was demonstrated by laboratory measurements of photosynthesis and forest measurements of growth. Low-light-grown juvenile rosettes had the same daily net assimilation whether tested at photon flux densities of 15 or 300 μmol m−2 s−1 Growth rates of rosettes in treefall gaps were similar to those of plants in closed canopy forest. Growth rates of forest plants were increasingly correlated with canopy openness as the wet season progressed due to increased growth by gap plants, suggesting that water availability rather than light may limit growth during the annual dry season.

Keywords

AechmeaBarro Colorado IslandBromeliaceaeCAMgrowthPanamaphotosynthesisshadetropical forestunderstorey
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , May 1988 , pp. 199 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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