Modulation of leaf physiology by age and in response to abiotic constraints in young cuttings of two Populus deltoides x P. nigra genotypes

It is of importance, when comparing physiological responses of leaves to environmental constraints among different genotypes, to take into account any effect related to leaf position and age within the canopy that might interfere with the response to the constraints. To document such effects, photosynthetic capacity and tolerance to heat and to oxidation were measured on leaves from the top to the bottom of three-month-old single-stem rooted cuttings of Populus deltoides x P. nigra genotypes, 'Dorskamp' and 'Luisa_Avanzo', thus taking into account a gradient of ages from youngest and still expanding (top) to oldest and fully expanded (bottom) leaves. All recorded traits were tightly linked to the age of the leaves. Photosynthetic capacity gradually increased during leaf expansion, in parallel with chlorophyll content and relative nitrogen allocation to RuBisCO and to bioenergetics. On the contrary, dark respiration gradually decreased during leaf expansion until a minimum value was reached at maturity. Compared to expanding leaves, young mature leaves were characterized by a lower sensitivity to heat and a higher one to oxidations generated by methyl-viologen. Leaf characteristics appeared to vary along the stem to a larger extent than between the two genotypes that display largely different productivities in plantations.