Life Sciences Commons^™

Instantaneous Photosynthetic Response To Temperature Of Mature Forest Canopies And Experimentally Warmed Seedlings, Alida C. Mau

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Tropical trees have been shown to be more susceptible to warming compared to temperate species, and have shown growth and photosynthetic declines at elevated temperatures as little as 3oC above ambient. However, regional and global vegetation models lack the data needed to accurately represent physiological response to increased temperatures in tropical forests. We compared the instantaneous photosynthetic responses to elevated temperatures of four mature tropical rainforest tree species in Puerto Rico and the temperate broadleaf species sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in Michigan. Contrary to expectations, leaves in the upper canopy of both temperate and tropical forests had temperature …