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JXB Advance Access published online on October 3, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/eri281
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© The Author [2005]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received May 13, 2005
Accepted August 5, 2005

RESEARCH PAPER

Photosynthetic responses of C3 and C4 species to seasonal water variability and competition

Shuli Niu 1, Zhiyou Yuan 1, Yanfang Zhang 1, Weixing Liu 1, Lei Zhang 2, Jianhui Huang 1, and Shiqiang Wan 1*

1 Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, China
2 Institute of Microbiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongguancun, Beijing 100080, China

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Shiqiang Wan, E-mail: swan{at}ibcas.ac.cn


  Abstract

This study examined the impacts of seasonal water variability and interspecific competition on the photosynthetic characteristics of a C3 (Leymus chinensis) and a C4 (Chloris virgata) grass species. Plants received the same amount of water but in three seasonal patterns, i.e. the one-peak model (more water in the summer than in the spring and autumn), the two-peak model (more water in the spring and autumn than in the summer), and the average model (water evenly distributed over the growing season). The effects of water variability on the photosynthetic characteristics of the C3 and C4 species were dependent on season. There were significant differences in the photosynthetic characteristics of the C4 species in the summer and the C3 species in the autumn among the three water treatments. Interspecific competition exerted negative impacts on the C3 species in August and September but had no effects on the C4 species in any of the four measuring dates. The relative competitive capability of the two species was not altered by water availability. The assimilation rate, the maximum quantum yield of net CO2 assimilation, and the maximum rate of carboxylation of the C3 species were 13-56%, 5-11%, and 11-48% greater, respectively, in a monoculture than in a mixture in August and September. The results demonstrated that the photosynthetic characteristics of the C3 and C4 species were affected by water availability, but the effects varied considerably with season.

Keywords: C3; C4; interspecific competition; photosynthesis; seasonal water variability.
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