Ecophysiological comportment of the tropical CAM‐tree <i>Clusia</i> in the field

Abstract

Measurements were performed on leaves of Clusia rosea Jacq. trees in the moist central mountains (330 to 365 m above sea level) and at the dry south coast of St John Island (US Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles). Seedlings of C. rosea were also studied in the central hills. During the study period (March 1989) all trees showed crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), in which net CO₂ uptake extended for a remarkably long time in the morning (phase II of CAM: until about 11 to 12 h) and contributed about 1/3 of total net CO₂ -uptake. During the night (phase I of CAM) malic acid and citric acid were accumulated concurrently at a molar ratio of malic: citric acid of about 1.6. Internal recycling of respiratory CO₂ was 20% of total CO₂ fixed during the night. Water-use-efficiency (mol CO₂ taken up: mol H₂ O transpired) was 0.014 to 0.022. The pH of leaf-cell sap at the end of the dark period was 2.85. This would still allow an H⁺ -ATPase at the tonoplast to transport 2H⁺ into the vacuole per ATP hydrolysed when operating near thermodynamic equilibrium. Free sugars, glucose and fructose, and starch were used as precursors for the CO₂ -acceptor phosphoenolpyruvate during the dark period; contributions of the two hexoses were about equal and together four-times that of starch. Xylem tensions showed increases of up to 8 bar during day-time. Leaf-sap osmotic pressures did not change significantly; the trend was a small decline during day-time. Among the seedlings, three different modes of photosynthesis were encountered, namely C₃ -photosynthesis in terrestrial and in epiphytic seedlings, continuous stomatal opening and CO₂ -uptake day and night in epiphytic seedlings, and CAM in seedlings growing in the tanks of Aechmea lingulata (L.) Baker.