Leaf gas exchange and water relations in Polylepis tarapacana at extreme altitudes in the Bolivian Andes

A study of Polylepis tarapacana at 4,300 m in the Bolivian Andes found that while leaf water potentials and conductances varied significantly between dry-cold and wet-warm seasons, net photosynthetic rates remained relatively stable due to offsetting limitations from water deficit and photon flux densities.

• Environmental conditions differed significantly between seasons, with the dry-cold season showing a mean leaf water potential of -1.67 MPa and mean leaf conductance of 33.5 mmol m-2 s-1, compared to -1.02 MPa and 58.9 mmol m-2 s-1 in the wet-warm season.
• Despite seasonal differences in water potential and conductance, the mean net photosynthetic rate (PN) showed less evident variation, measuring 2.5 &mumol m-2 s-1 in the dry-cold season and 2.8 &mumol m-2 s-1 in the wet-warm season.
• The stability of the net photosynthetic rate may be attributed to the combined effects of water deficit during the dry season and lower photon flux densities during the wet season, indicating that P. tarapacana has adapted its gas exchange to extreme high-elevation variations in temperature and water.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Leaf gas exchange and water relations in Polylepis tarapacana at extreme altitudes in the Bolivian Andes. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/leaf-gas-exchange-and-water-relations-in-polylepis-tarapacana-at-extreme-altitudes-in-the-bolivian-andes/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Leaf gas exchange and water relations in Polylepis tarapacana at extreme altitudes in the Bolivian Andes. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/leaf-gas-exchange-and-water-relations-in-polylepis-tarapacana-at-extreme-altitudes-in-the-bolivian-andes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Leaf gas exchange and water relations in Polylepis tarapacana at extreme altitudes in the Bolivian Andes |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/leaf-gas-exchange-and-water-relations-in-polylepis-tarapacana-at-extreme-altitudes-in-the-bolivian-andes/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025leaf, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Leaf gas exchange and water relations in Polylepis tarapacana at extreme altitudes in the Bolivian Andes}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/leaf-gas-exchange-and-water-relations-in-polylepis-tarapacana-at-extreme-altitudes-in-the-bolivian-andes/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }