Contribution of overwintering leaves to the growth of three broad-leaved, evergreen shrubs belonging to the Ericaceae family

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Abstract
Individual leaves of three bog ericads, leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia), and Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), were retained for a maximum of two growing seasons in a peat bog in southern Ontario. The premature loss of mature leaves, resulting from artificial defoliation, significantly reduced the growth of new shoots of L. groenlandicum and K. polifolia but not of C. calyculata. Defoliation effects were directly proportional to the normal retention time for overwintering leaves. Mature leaves probably translocate photosynthate, nitrogen, and phosphorus to other plant parts. This would explain why leaf dry weights were greatest at the start, rather than at the end, of the leaves' second growing season. Net photosynthetic rates decreased with leafage, but in terms of leaf nitrogen content, new and old leaves fixed equal amounts of carbon.