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Effects of water stress on gas exchange of field grown Zea mays L. in Southern Italy: an analysis at canopy and leaf level

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Abstract

Zea mays is cultivated in the Mediterranean regions where summer drought may lead to photoinhibition when irrigation is not available. In this work the response of maize to water stress was evaluated by gas exchange measurements at the canopy and leaf level. Leaf gas exchange was assessed before, during and after water stress, while canopy turbulent fluxes of mass and energy were performed on a continuous basis. In the early growth period, a linear increment of net ecosystem photosynthetic rate (PNE) to incoming of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was found and net leaf photosynthetic rate (PNL) showed the tendency to saturate under high irradiance. During water stress, the relationship between PNE and PPFD became curvilinear and both PNE and PNL saturated in a range between 1,000 and 1,500 μmol (photons) m−2 s−1. Leaf water potential (ψl) dropped from −1.50 to −1.88 MPa during water stress, indicating that leaf and canopy gas exchanges were limited by stomatal conductance. With the restoration of irrigation, PNE, PNL and ψl showed a recovery, and PNE and PNL reached the highest values of whole study period. Leaf area index (LAI) reached a value of 3.0 m2 m−2. The relationship between PNE and PPFD remained curvilinear and PNE values were lower than those of a typical well-irrigated maize crop. The recovery in PNE and PNL after stress, and ψl values during stress indicate that the photosynthetic apparatus was not damaged while soil moisture stress after-effects resulted in a sub-optimal LAI values, which in turn depressed PNE.

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Abbreviations

DAS:

Days after sowing

E E :

Ecosystem evapotranspiration rate

g s :

Stomatal conductance

LAI:

Leaf area index

P NE1,500 :

Net ecosystem photosynthetic rate measured at PPFD of 1,500 ± 100 μmol m−2 s−1

P NE :

Net ecosystem photosynthetic rate

P NL :

Net leaf photosynthetic rate

PPFD:

Photosynthetic photon flux density

R eco :

Ecosystem respiration

α:

Ecosystem quantum yield for CO2 assimilation

E L :

Leaf transpiration rate

\(\Phi _{{{\text{CO}}_{{\text{2}}} }}\) :

Leaf quantum yield for CO2 assimilation

WUEC :

Water use efficiency of canopy

WUEL :

Water use efficiency of leaf

ψl :

Leaf water potential

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Prof. Amodio Fuggi (SUN, Caserta, Italy) for providing the leaf gas exchange instrument (LiCor 6400), to Dr. Annachiara Forte (Università Federico II, Naples) for support in leaf gas exchange measurements, to the farm owner, Dr. Gaetano Jemma for hosting the experiment and to Dr. Vincenzo Carbone for kindly providing support in the field and details about crop management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Complesso di Monte Sant’Angelo, via Cinthia, 80126, Napoli, Italy

    Luca Vitale, Carmen Arena, Angelo Fierro & Amalia Virzo De Santo

  2. CNR-ISAFoM, Via Patacca, 80056, Ercolano (Napoli), Italy

    Paul Di Tommasi & Vincenzo Magliulo

Authors
  1. Luca Vitale
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  2. Paul Di Tommasi
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  3. Carmen Arena
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  4. Angelo Fierro
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  5. Amalia Virzo De Santo
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  6. Vincenzo Magliulo
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Correspondence to Luca Vitale.

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Communicated by W. Filek.

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Vitale, L., Di Tommasi, P., Arena, C. et al. Effects of water stress on gas exchange of field grown Zea mays L. in Southern Italy: an analysis at canopy and leaf level. Acta Physiol Plant 29, 317–326 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-007-0041-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-007-0041-6

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