Summary
Small birch plants (Betula pendula Roth.) were grown in a climate chamber at different, exponentially increasing rates of nitrogen supply and at different photon flux densities. This resulted in treatments with relative growth rate equal to the relative rate of increase in nitrogen supply and with different equilibrium values of plant nitrogen concentration. Nitrogen productivity (rate of dry matter increase per plant nitrogen) was largely independent of nitrogen supply and was greater at higher photon flux density. Leaf weight ratio, average specific leaf area (and thus leaf area ratio) were all greater at better nitrogen supply and at lower values of photon flux density. The dependencies were such that the ratio of total projected leaf area to plant nitrogen at a given photon flux density was similar at all rates of nitrogen supply. The ratio was greater at lower values of photon flux density. At a given value of photon flux density, net assimilation rate and net photosynthetic rate per shoot area (measured at the growth climate) were only slightly greater at better rates of nitrogen supply. Values were greater at higher photon flux densities. Acclimation of the total leaf area to plant nitrogen ratio and of net assimilation rate was such that nitrogen productivity was largely saturated with respect to photon flux density at values greater than 230 μmol m-2 s-1. At higher photon flux densities, any potential gain in nitrogen productivity associated with higher net assimilation rates was apparently offset by lower ratios of total leaf area to plant nitrogen.
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McDonald, A.J.S., Lohammar, T. & Ingestad, T. Net assimilation rate and shoot area development in birch (Betula pendula Roth.) at different steady-state values of nutrition and photon flux density. Trees 6, 1–6 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224491
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224491