Abstract

GONZALEZ-SALVATIERRA, Claudia et al. Light microenvironment and leaf morphology and physiology of Bromelia karatas (Bromeliaceae) in a tropical dry deciduous forest in Yucatan, Mexico.. Bot. sci [online]. 2013, vol.91, n.1, pp.75-84. ISSN 2007-4476.

Crassulacean acid metabolism is an adaptation of certain plants to the lack of water or carbon dioxide and it is related to anatomical, morphological, and physiological response mechanisms to cope with long drought periods. High light can affect metabolic, physiological, and structural processes in plants and, in changing environments (such as those of a seasonally dry forests), plant leaves show anatomical and physiological photoprotection responses. The objective of this study was to determine those responses in two light microenvironments and in two seasons for a terrestrial bromeliad (Bromelia karata) from the tropical dry deciduous forest of Dzibilchaltún National Park in Yucatán, Mexico. The morphological characteristics of the leaves of B. karatas reflected the influence of the environmental factors and allowed maintaining high diurnal water potentials and diminishing water loss to maintain photosynthesis. These foliar characteristics, along with the foliar spines and asexual growth of this species, can help to explain its high ecological importance value in this tropical dry deciduous forest.

Keywords : chlorophyll; fluorescence; crassulacean acid metabolism; photoprotection; water potential.