Sunfleck Frequency and Duration Affects Growth Rate of the Understorey Plant, Alocasia macrorrhiza

We measured the gas exchange and growth responses of Alocasia macrorrhiza to three light regimes; short lighflecks (SF), long lightlecks (LF), and uniform diffuse light (U), all with the same total daily photon flux density. Relative growth rates (RGR) were highest in the U regime and lowest in the LF regime. Carbon gain was limited by low photosynthetic induction state in the LF plants. A greater contribution from post-illumination CO 2 fixation resulted in increased RGR for the SF plants relative to the LF plants. Photosynthetic capacities and efficiency of sunfleck utilization were unaffected by growth light regime, indicating that there was no acclimation to the temporal distribution of light (...)