1. Leaf respiratory temperature responses and general leaf properties of Quercus rubra were measured throughout the 2003 growing season in a deciduous forest in the north-eastern USA. Measurements were made in the upper and lower portions of the canopy at two sites with different soil water availability. Correlations among respiration and various leaf properties were examined.2. At a set temperature (10 and 20 degrees C), area-based leaf respiration rates were higher in both the early and late growing season than in the mid-growing season (0.50 vs 0.33 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1) at 10 degrees C, on average). Upper-canopy leaves generally had higher respiration rates than lower-canopy leaves (0.53 vs 0.30 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1) at 10 degrees C, on average). At the drier site a more significant seasonal pattern in respiration was observed, while at the more mesic site a stronger canopy-position effect was detected. E-0, a model variable related to the overall energy of activation of respiration, varied only slightly (52 +/- 5 kJ mol(-1) K-1), and was not influenced by season, site or canopy position.
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