Photosynthetic rates and water use efficiencies in three climber species grown in different exposures at urban and suburban sites

Water Use Efficiency and photosynthetic rate of Fallopia aubertii (L. Henry) Holub., Hedera helix L. and Vitis riparia Michx. grown in various exposures in two site variants: Warsaw city centre vs. suburbs wereanalysed. All studied climbers showed similar photosynthetic intensity in both sites. The strongest effect of the exposition was found for F. aubertii, followed by V. riparia, and shade tolerant H. helix. WUE of studied climbers was relatively low, higher in suburbs than in the centre, due to lower adaptation to different sites. TheWUE of the climbers depended on exposure and the highest scores were obtained for sunny southern and western walls, while the lowest in northern ones. Intrinsic water use efficiency of the studied climbers was higher in the city centre than in the suburbs.