Solar UVB radiation (280-320 nm) is an initiator of Vitamin D3 production in the human skin. While numerous studies have been conducted in relation to the biological impact of UV exposure in full sun, less research has investigated the irradiances in shade. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of UV radiation in relation to Vitamin D3 induction with six commonly encountered sha...

Figure 1. Encalypta rhabdocarpa in the alpine region where high-intensity UV light can damage chlorophyll and DNA. Photo by Michael Lüth. Exposure to UV light has been hypothesized as a major deterrent of evolution to land. Both chlorophyll and DNA are easily damaged by high intensities of direct sunlight (Figure 1). In fact, it has been suggested that a major role of lignin, absent in bryophyt...

Utilization efficiency (LUE) of lightflecks by leaves increases with decreasing duration of the lightfleck, and depends on photosynthetic induction. Sun and shade leaves differ with respect to photosynthetic induction. Shade leaves may become fully induced by a series of light pulses, whereas photosynthetic induction of leaves from partial shade or full sun depends on continuous light. Addition...

Influence of different light regimes (plants grown in shade and in the sun) on respiration, activity of alternative respiratory pathway and carbohydrates content in mature leaves of Ajuga reptans L. was investigated. All experiments were carried out under natural conditions. Sun plants had higher respiration, activity of the alternative pathway and carbohydrates content compared to the shade pl...

The greater rate of CO2 assimilation (A n) in sun-grown tobacco leaves leads to lower intercellular and chloroplast CO2 concentrations and, thus, a higher rate of oxygenation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) than in shade-grown leaves. Impairment of the photorespiratory pathway suppresses photosynthetic CO2 assimilation. Here, we hypothesized that sun leaves can up-regulate photorespiratory ...

Half a century of research into the physiology and biochemistry of sun-shade acclimation in diverse plants has provided reality checks for contemporary understanding of thylakoid membrane dynamics. This paper reviews recent insights into photosynthetic efficiency and photoprotection from studies of two xanthophyll cycles in old shade leaves from the inner canopy of the tropical trees Inga sapin...

It has been indicated that photosystem I (PSI) is susceptible to chilling-light stress in tobacco leaves, but the effect of growth light intensity on chilling-induced PSI photoinhibition in tobacco is unclear. We examined the effects of chilling temperature (4°C) associated with moderate light intensity (300 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1)) on the activities of PSI and photosystem II (PSII) in leaves ...

We exposed Populus tremuloides Michx. and Acer saccharum Marsh. to a factorial combination of ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) and high-nitrogen (N) and low-N soil treatments in open-top chambers for 3 years. Our objective was to compare photosynthetic acclimation to elevated [CO2] between species of contrasting shade tolerance, and to determine if soil N or shading m...