This greatly affects water availability and hence the kinds of plants that grow in the different areas. The south-facing slope contains scattered ponderosa pine, but is dominated by grass and shrubs such as sumac and mountain mahogany. The north-facing slope in a closed forest of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine that contains broadleaf shrubs such as Rocky Mountain maple, raspberry and cherry. The riparian community includes willow, cottonwood, dogwood and alder. We will be sampling plants in each of these 3 different communities for photosynthetic rates.
Photosynthesis is affected both by a number of factors.
Light levels obviously have an important effect as well, and they will be affected by aspect and structure of the plant community. Water availability also affects stomatal opening, which in turn affects photosynthesis. All of these factors interact in complex ways to affect the photosynthetic rate at a given time. This is a portable, battery-operated unit. A leaf is enclosed in a chamber called a cuvette.