Well‐lighted plants may contain considerable amounts of ascorbic acid (AA) particularly in their chloroplasts. AA is known to be a strong reductant which fulfils several functions in photosynthesis. AA may also influence detoxification of polluted plants, e.g. by reducing SO2. AA contents of forest tree species were distinctly decreased by shading, particularly in light demanding species. Continued SO2 fumigation depressed AA contents long before visible symptoms of injury appeared. AA thus deserves more attention in physiological air pollution research.
Injury caused by low 03 concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1 gl 1-1) was analyzed in the epidermis and mesophyll of fully developed birch leaves by gas exchange experiments and low-temperature SEM: (I) after leaf formation in O3-free and ozonated air, and (II) after transferring control plants into ozonated air. In control leaves, autumnal senescence also was studied in O3-free air (III). As 03 concentration increased, leaves of (I) stayed reduced in size, but showed increased specific weight and stomatal density. The declining photosynthetic capacity, quantum yield and carboxylation efficiency lowered the light saturation of CO2 uptake and the water-use efficiency (WUE). Carbon gain was less limited by the reduced stomatal conductance than by the declining ability of CO2 fixation in the mesophyll. The changes in gas exchange were related to the 03 dose and were mediated by narrowed stomatal pores (overriding the increase in stomatal density) and by progressive collapse of mesophyll cells. The air space in the mesophyll increased, preceded by exudate formation on cell walls. Ozonated leaves, which had developed in O3-free air (II), displayed a similar but more rapid decline than the leaves from (I). In senescent leaves (III), CO2 uptake showed a similar decrease as in leaves with 03 injury but no changes in mesophyll structure and WUE. The nitrogen concentration declined only in senescent leaves in parallel with the rate of CO2 uptake. A thorough understanding of 03 injury and natural senescence requires combined structural and functional analyses of leaves.
The growth of potted birch cuttings (one clone of Betula pendula) was studied under low 03 concentrations (0, 0.050, 0.075, 0.100 ~tl 1-1) throughout an entire growing season. With increasing 03 dose, 20-50% of all leaves formed were prematurely shed, while 40-70% of the remaining foliage displayed advanced discoloration by the end of the season. Ozonation affected the S, P and N concentration of leaves and increased ~13C in leaves and stem, while the CO2 assimilation rate declined with increasing CO2 concentration in mesophyll intercellulars. While whole-plant production correlated negatively with the 03 dose, ozone increased the specific leaf weight (i. e. leaf weight/leaf area, SLW) but decreased the ratios of stem weight/stem length and root/shoot biomass. Neither the latter ratio nor SLW changed in experimentally defoliated control plants, whereas in ozonated plants starch accumulated along leaf veins and phloem tissue was deformed in the leaf petioles and the stem. Only in early summer was the relative growth rate higher in the ozonated than in the control plants. The ratio of whole-plant biomass production versus total foliage area formed was lowered under 03 stress. However, when relating biomass to the actual foliage area present due to leaf loss, this ratio did not differ between treatments. Similarly the ratio of actual foliage area versus basal stem area in cross-section did not differ. Overall, whole-plant production was strongly determined by O3-caused changes in crown structure and began to be limited at 03 doses (approximately 180 ~tl 1-1 h) similar to those of rural sites in Central Europe.
For 20 weeks during the growing season, cuttings of one birch clone (Betula pendula Roth.) were exposed in the Birmensdorf fumigation chambers to O(3)-free air (control) or 75 nl O(3) l(-1). Ozone was supplied either from 1900 until 0700 h (nighttime regime), from 0700 until 1900 h (daylight regime), or all day (24-h regime). By autumn, reductions in whole-plant biomass production, root/shoot biomass and stem weight/length ratios were evident in all three O(3) regimes. The reductions in cuttings receiving the 24-h O(3) treatment were about twofold larger than in cuttings receiving the daylight O(3) treatment. Stomata were open at night, and stomatal conductance was about 50% of its maximum daytime value. We calculated that the rate of O(3) uptake into leaves in the dark approached 4 nmol m(-2) s(-1). Whole-plant production and carbon allocation were more sensitive to O(3) during the night than during the day; however, O(3) exposure caused similar visible leaf injury in both of the 12-h regimes, although the leaves exposed to O(3) at night exhibited delayed O(3)-induced shedding. Overall, changes in production and carbon allocation were determined by the external O(3) dose rather than by the kind of O(3) exposure, indicating that, at the seasonal scale, the internal dose of ozone that was physiologically effective was a constant fraction of the external O(3) dose. We conclude that nighttime O(3) exposures should be included in the daily time period for determining critical concentrations of O(3) causing injury in trees.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.