Quality assessment of urban trees using growth visual and chlorophyll fluorescence indicators

Abstract

Uhrin P., Supuka J.: Quality assessment of urban trees using growth visual and chlorophyll fluorescence indicators. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 35, No. 2, p. 160-172, 2016. Urbanised landscape represents composed structures of technical and biotic elements where social and economy activities create living space for human society but with strongly changed environment. To dominant characters belong climate changes with increased air temperature, drought and emission load, which has developed wide spectrum of stress factors influencing the urban vegetation. For the assessment of plant growth and adaptation response, we have used Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) as study model woody plant. In the framework of visual characters, we assessed the following indicators: (a) assimilation organs (leaf necrosis); (b) crown quality (degree of foliage and degree of dead tree crown); (c) trunk and branch quality (mechanical damage, incidence of wood destroying fungus and trunk cavities and callus healing of trunk wounds). Each indicator was assessed in five-point scale, and in the end, the common index of quality was calculated. The quality index achieved 9.33 points in the first and 10.33 in the second evaluation periods in the Nitra city and 2.66 at the both assessed periods in the comparable rural park. In the group of physiological indicators, chlorophyll a fluorescence marker and its F v /F m parameter were used. Within three repeating assessment during growing season (June, August and September), the average values reached F v /F m = 0.814 in the city and F v /F m = 0.829 in rural park. The results confirmed statistical significances between loaded city conditions and relatively clean rural locality. Used markers have shown as appropriate tools for growth response measurements of street trees in a changed urban environment.

Growth adaptability of Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) to urban environment

“…The results obtained were statistically evaluated and finally processed into the fusion Index of adaptability (Ia) for each assessed tree individual according to the two studied localities. More detailed methods have been described in a published article and in a doctoral thesis (Uhrin and Supuka, 2016;Uhrin, 2017).…”

“…The statistical files were tested among themselves for significance of differences between obtained results by the analysis of variance (ANOVA-test). More detailed methods, measurement and evaluating processes are described in other articles (Uhrin and Supuka, 2016;Uhrin, 2017).…”

“…The measurement was performed after a 30-min. adaptation of assimilation organs to darkness with the use of a leaf clamp chamber with a 7-mm diameter saturation aperture (Kmeť et al, 2009;Uhrin and Supuka, 2016). In 2016, we decided to measure chlorophyll a fluorescence also directly without 30 min.…”

“…Another method describes tree adaptability assessment based on terpene compounds analyses from conifer tree needles grown in urban green space conditions (Supuka, et al, 1997). Comprehensive assessment of tree adaptability based on morphological traits and selected ecology physiology markers has been published by Uhrin and Supuka (2016). Nowadays, tree adaptability processes are studied on the physiological and genetic level.…”

Influence of Pollution on Photosynthesis Pigment Content in Needles of Picea abies and Picea pungens in Conditions of Development of Iron Ore Deposits

“…However, they respond rapidly to the presence of even small doses of toxic substances in the air, being damaged by solid particles of industrial emissions that do not have visible effects on humans and animals. Therefore, plants are considered to be the best environmental indicators (Nowak et al, 2014;Uhrin, Supuka, 2016;Afanas' eva, 2018).…”