CONTRASTING STOMATAL RESPONSES TO VARIABLE SUNLIGHT IN TWO SUBALPINE HERBS.

Gas exchange was measured in two subalpine herbs during alternating periods of sun and shade that simulated natural cloud patterns. Stomatal conductance (g) in the subalpine herb Helianthella quinquenervis was reduced by as much as 75% during 5-min shade periods that ranged in photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) from 100 to 1,100 μmol m sec . In contrast, responses in g in another herb, Frasera speciosa, to fluctuations in sunlight were small, apparently due to slower stomatal responses. Based on an earlier hypothesis that water stress may strongly influence nonsteady state gas exchange responses to fluctuations in PPFD, net photosynthesis and g were measured in these herbs as seasonal water stress increased and compared with responses in irrigated plants. Stomatal conductance was relatively unresponsive to changes in PPFD in F. speciosa regardless of water stress. In contrast, substantial decreases in g occurred for H. quinquenervis during shade only when this species experienced water stress later in the season. Little response in g was measured early in the season or in irrigated plants. The seasonal shift in nonsteady state responses in H. quinquenervis from little response in g to shade when plants were nonstressed to more rapid reductions in g as water stress increased would maximize carbon gain early in the season when soil water was abundant while conserving water during periods of soil drought.