Monoculture and mixed stands of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) and tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata Willd.) trees were established on degraded land in central Amazonia to compare leaf gas exchange parameters between plants grown in sunlight in an open field and in shade beneath a balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale Cav.) canopy. Shading increased specific leaf area by about 50% in both species. Shading reduced height and diameter growth of S. macrophylla, whereas it increased these parameters for D. odorata. Light-saturated photosynthesis (Amax), stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration (E) were higher in S. macrophylla than in D. odorata. In S. macrophylla, Amax was higher in sun leaves (12.9 +/- 0.9 micromol m-2 s-1) than in shade leaves (10.2 +/- 1.0 micromol m-2 s-1), whereas light environment had no significant effect on Amax of D. odorata. In both species, CO2-saturated photosynthesis (Apot) was higher in sun leaves (22 +/- 1.4 micromol m-2 s-1) than in shade leaves (17-20 +/- 0.8 micromol m-2 s-1). Stomatal conductance and E increased in sun leaves of S. macrophylla by 45 and 38%, respectively, whereas light environment did not affect gs and E of D. odorata. Photorespiration rates (Pr) varied from 28 to 36% of net photosynthesis (A) at ambient atmospheric CO2 concentration (Ca) but declined to around 7% of A at higher Ca. Leaf dark respiration (Rd) and the CO2 compensation point (Gamma) were lower in shade-grown plants than in open-grown plants. Compared with shade-grown plants, total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) concentrations increased by 56% in S. macrophylla and by 30% in D. odorata in the open field. Leaf nitrogen (NL) concentrations were higher in open-grown plants than in shade-grown plants of both species, and TNC and NL concentrations were negatively correlated (r = -0.77). High TNC accumulation in S. macrophylla in the open field suggests that photosynthesis is unlikely to be growth-limiting at this site. We conclude that photosynthetic parameters of D. odorata are less affected by light environment than those of S. macrophylla, indicating that D. odorata has lower physiological plasticity to light than S. macrophylla.