Understory Environmental Conditions Drive Leaf Level-Lipid Biosynthesis in a Deciduous and Evergreen Tree Species.

ABSTRACT: Plants in the understory experience climatic conditions affected by the overstory canopy that influence physiological and biochemical processes. Here, we investigate the relationships of leaf lipid molecular abundances to leaf water content, transmitted irradiance, and free-air temperature (T_air) from deciduous angiosperm (Quercus buckleyi) and evergreen gymnosperm (Juniperus ashei) understory trees across an elevation gradient in a central Texas (USA) woodland. Monthly sampling from 04/2019 to 01/2020 revealed that long-chain leaf waxes (≥ C₂₇) accumulated with leaf water deficit over the growing season for both tree species. Higher transmitted light during the hottest, driest months was due to a decreased leaf area index (LAI) in the canopy as leaf shedding is a com

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11788954 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature