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Among the environmental pollution elements, one of the most important problems of the world today, air pollution and heavy metal pollution that have gradually increased after the industrial activities, are of significant importance. Heavy metals are not easily dissolved in nature. Moreover, they tend to bioaccumulate in living organisms, and some of them have a toxic or carcinogenic effect even at low concentrations. For this reason, it is crucial to monitor the heavy metal concentration in the air and monitor the changes. One of the efficient methods in observing the change of heavy metal concentrations in the air is the use of annual rings of trees as a biomonitor. The present study aimed to determine the annual change of Ni and Co concentrations, which are among the heavy metals related to traffic volume at most, in annual rings of Cedrus atlantica harvested in Kastamonu in late 2019. Within the scope of this study, the heavy metal concentrations in the inner and outer bark were compared to the heavy metal concentration in wood and the change of concentration in terms of direction was also analyzed. As a result of the present study, the highest concentrations in both heavy metals were found in the outer bark, whereas the transmission of metals within the wood was limited. It was found that Ni concentration significantly changed directionally in woods, and this change was related to the traffic volume. Thus, it was concluded that the annual rings of Cedrus atlantica were very suitable biomonitors to monitor Ni concentration change.

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With climate change, global warming has increased adverse effects on living things in our country. In these adverse effects, water scarcity is the most crucial problem due to the increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation. Forests are the most affected ecosystem among others by water scarcity in our country. This study tried to determine the 5-year-old seeds and 1-year-old seedlings (produced from the same seeds) of some Turkish red pine provenance' responses to different water stress levels. First, how the water stress levels (0, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, -0.8 MPa) affect seed germination of these provenances was determined. Secondly, gas exchange parameters [net photosynthesis (Anet), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE)] under different water stress were determined in the seedlings obtained from these species' seeds. As a result of the germination test, Denizli-Çameli (DC) provenance had the highest rate (48%), while Maraş-Suçatı had the lowest rate (29%) under control treatment. The highest germination rate was obtained in Burdur/Bucak provenance (5%) under -0.2 MPa osmotic potential. For gas exchange parameters, Antalya/Gündoğmuş provenance had the highest Anet, gs values while DC provenance had the lowest Anet, gs, and E values when provenance is considered as a single factor. Besides, increasing in irrigation increased Anet, gs, and E while decreased the iWUE. The lowest seedling E under water stress can be explained because this species responds to the water shortage by closing its stomata. Among the Turkish red pine origins, DC provenance showed higher drought tolerance than others.

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Aim of study: Two-year-old containerized balsam and concolor fir and one-year-old Eastern white pine transplants were grown under variable watering regimes with the goal of identifying plant morphological and some physiological traits under water stress.