Open Access

ARTICLE

Nocturnal accumulation of titratable acidity in Tillandsia makoyana (Bromeliaceae), epiphytic bromeliad of the tropical dry forest

by Díaz-Álvarez EA, AP Rojas-Cortés, E de la Barrera

1 Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México.
2 Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., México.

Address correspondence to: Erick de la Barrera, e-mail:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2017, 86(all), 278-281. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2017.86.278

Abstract

The epiphytic bromeliad Tillandsia makoyana was studied to assess the contribution of the environmental factors, water, temperature, and light, to the expression of the Crassulacean acid metabolism. In particular, nocturnal titratable acidity accumulation and maximum leaf temperature were measured in response to watering and incident light. Plants that were watered and exposed to direct sunlight had the highest nocturnal accumulation of titratable acidity (25.52 ± 0.34 H⁺/m²), while those without irrigation and shaded showed a 59% reduction in their titratable acidity. Our results illustrated a rapid response of the photosynthetic activity to water availability in Tillandsia makoyana, a native species from an ecosystem where this environmental factor fluctuates greatly.

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