Photosynthetic capacity is negatively correlated with the concentration of leaf phenolic compounds across a range of different species

Abstract

Phenolic compounds are the most commonly studied of all secondary metabolites because of their significant protective -defensive roles and their significant concentration in plant tissues. However, there has been little study on relationships between gas exchange parameters and the concentration of leaf phenolic compounds (total phenolics (TP) and condensed tannins (CT)) across a range of species. Therefore, we addressed the question: is there any correlation between photosynthetic capacity (A max ) and TP and CT across species from different ecosystems in different continents?