Effects of environmental variables and foliar traits on the transpiration rate of cocoa ( Theobroma cacao L.) under diff
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Effects of environmental variables and foliar traits on the transpiration rate of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) under different cultivation systems Francisco Saavedra
. Ernesto Jordan Pen˜a . Monika Schneider . Kazuya Naoki
Received: 30 September 2019 / Accepted: 30 June 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The response of plant species to environmental conditions influences changes in functional traits associated with the process that determines biological fitness and ecosystem processes. However, documenting these responses remain largely elusive in cultivation systems. We analyzed how environmental variables and leaf traits have effects on the transpiration rate of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) trees compared among different cultivation systems. Fieldwork was carried out at the Sara Ana experimental station in Alto Beni, La Paz, Bolivia. We sampled four trees in each of eight plots; four plots for each cultivation system (organic monoculture vs. organic agroforestry). From each tree, two mature, sunlit and healthy leaves were collected to make measurements of foliar traits and environmental variables. We found that canopy cover was higher in the agroforestry
system. The specific leaf area was greater in agroforestry but the stomata size was significantly higher in the monoculture system. Temperature had a positive relationship with transpiration, whereas canopy cover and specific leaf area had a negative relationship in the agroforestry system. Cultivation system caused changes in microenvironmental conditions and on the expression of leaf traits that regulate water flow through the plant. Thus, the mutual effects of canopy cover, larger leaves and smaller stomatal size may drive a more efficient water use by reducing the transpiration rate of plants growing in agroforestry systems. Keywords Agroforestry Canopy cover Specific leaf area Stomata size Temperature
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00522-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. F. Saavedra (&) Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Instituto de Ecologı´a, Universidad Mayor de San Andre´s, Campus universitario Cota Cota c/27, La Paz, Bolivia e-mail: [email protected] E. Jordan Pen˜a Carrera de Biologı´a, Facultad de Ciencias Puras y Naturales, Universidad Mayor de San Andre´s, Campus universitario Cota Cota c/27, La Paz, Bolivia
M. Schneider Department of International Cooperation, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland K. Naoki Instituto de Ecologı´a, Carrera de Biologı´a, Universidad Mayor de San Andre´s, Campus universitario Cota Cota c/27, La Paz, Bolivia
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Agroforest Syst
Introduction The responses of plant species to environmental conditions influence changes in functional traits associated with physiological (Monteiro et al. 2016) and ecosystem processes (Nock et al. 2016). Functional traits comprise a variety of features that
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