Effects of leaf age, nitrogen nutrition and photon flux density (PFD) on the distribution of nitrogen among leaves were investigated in a vine, Ipomoea tricolor Cav., which had been grown horizontally so as to avoid mutual shading of leaves. The nitrogen content was highest in newly developed young leaves and decreased with age of leaves in plants grown at low nitrate concentrations and with all leaves exposed to full sunlight. Thus, a distinct gradient of leaf nitrogen content was formed along the gradient of leaf age. However, no gradient of leaf nitrogen content was formed in plants grown at a high nitrate concentration. Effects of PFD on the distribution of nitrogen were examined by shading leaves in a manner that simulated changes in the light gradient of an erect herbaceous canopy (i.e., where old leaves were placed under increasingly darker conditions with growth of the canopy). This canopy-type shading steepened the gradient of leaf nitrogen content in plants grown at a low nitrogen supply, and created a gradient in plants grown at high concentrations of nitrate. The steeper the gradient of PFD, the larger the gradient of leaf nitrogen that was formed. When the gradient of shading was inverted, that is, younger leaves were subjected to increasingly heavier shade, while keeping the oldest leaves exposed to full sunlight, an inverted gradient of leaf nitrogen content was formed at high nitrate concentrations. The gradient of leaf nitrogen content generated either by advance of leaf age at low nitrogen availability, or by canopy-type shading, was comparable to those reported for the canopies of erect herbaceous plants. It is concluded that both leaf age and PFD have potential to cause the non-uniform distribution of leaf nitrogen. It is also shown that the contribution of leaf age increases with the decrease in nitrogen nutrition level.

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Norin No. 61) was grown at 25°C until the third leaves reached about 10 cm in length and then at 15°C, 25°C, or 35°C until full development of the third leaves (about 1 week at 25°C, but 2-3 weeks at 15°C or 35°C). In the leaves developed at 15°C, 25°C, and 35°C, the optimum temperature for CO 2 -saturated photosynthesis was 15°C to 20°C, 25°C to 30°C, and 35°C, respectively. The photosystem II (PS II) electron transport, determined either polarographically with isolated thylakoids or by measuring the modulated chlorophyll a fluorescence in leaves, also showed the maximum rate near the temperature at which the leaves had developed. Maximum rates of CO 2 -saturated photosynthesis and PS II electron transport determined at respective optimum temperatures were the highest in the leaves developed at 25°C and lowest in the leaves developed at 35°C. So were the levels of chlorophyll, photosystem I and PS II, whereas the level of Rubisco decreased with increasing temperature at which the leaves had developed. Kinetic analyses of chlorophyll a fluorescence changes and P700 reduction showed that the temperature dependence of electron transport at the plastoquinone and water-oxidation sites was modulated by the temperature at which the leaves had developed. These results indicate that the major factor that contributes to thermal acclimation of photosynthesis in winter wheat is the plastic response of PS II electron transport to environmental temperature.Photosynthesis in plants native to areas with large seasonal variations in temperature during their growth exhibits an ability to acclimate to growth temperature (Berry and Bjö rkman, 1980). Plants that are grown at cold temperature regimes show maximum rates of photosynthesis at lower temperatures than do plants grown under warm temperature regimes, and an increase in growth temperature results in an increase in optimal temperature for photosynthesis. This enables plants to perform a high rate of photosynthesis at the growth temperature, provided that a shift in optimum temperature is not accompanied with counteracting changes in the photosynthetic capacity. The acclimation potential of photosynthesis to temperature greatly varies with the plant species and ecotypes. Although a shift in the optimum temperature for photosynthesis is generally less than one-half that in the growth temperature (Berry and Bjö rkman, 1980), several plants show dramatic changes in the temperature-response curve of photosynthesis. The optimum temperature for photosynthesis in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Norin No. 61) grown at different seasons of the year increased with increase in the mean air temperature at a rate of about 3°C increase for each 4°C increase in the growth temperature (Sawada, 1970). A 15°C increase in the growth temperature resulted in a 15°C increase in optimum temperature for photosynthesis in Pinus taeda (Strain et al., 1976) and acclimation of Saxifraga cernua to a 10°C higher temperature was accompanied with about a 10°C upw...

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