Biogeosciences www.biogeosciences.net 1726-4170 1726-4189 6 11 2009 10.5194/bg-6-2495-2009 http://www.biogeosciences.net/6/2495/2009/ http://www.biogeosciences.net/6/2495/2009/bg-6-2495-2009.html http://www.biogeosciences.net/6/2495/2009/bg-6-2495-2009.pdf 2495 2507 2009-11-06 Photosynthesis of boreal ground vegetation after a forest clear-cut L. Kulmala liisa.kulmala@helsinki.fi J. Pumpanen T. Vesala P. Hari Department of Forest Ecology, University of Helsinki, Finland Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland Heather (Calluna vulgaris), rosebay willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium), wavy hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus) are typical species at boreal clear-cut sites. In this study, we measured their photosynthesis separately in the growing season of 2005 using a manual chamber. All measured species showed clear and species-specific seasonal cycles of photosynthetic activity (Pmax). The maxima of C. vulgaris and E. angustifolium occurred around June and July, while that of R. idaeus occurred as late as August. A simple model of photosynthetic activity is presented, addressing the photosynthesis of C. vulgaris was mainly explained by temperature history when the soil moisture is high. The activity of deciduous D. flexuosa also followed the temperature history, unlike the activities of E. angustifolium and R. idaeus. During a short drought, some shoots decreased their Pmax levels but none of the species showed similar reactions between individuals. We also observed that the comparison of the whole-plant Pmax or respiration of different-sized individuals were less scattered than the results based on full-grown leaf mass, implying that species-specific rates of photosynthesis at ground level are rather similar regardless of the plant size. 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