The effect of the substrate on the anatomical and morphophysiological parameters of Pimpinella saxifraga L. on the ash dump

Abstract

The structural and functional features of the species Pimpinella saxifraga L., which grows in the ash dumpof the Verkhnetagil State District Power Station, were investigated, compared with the natural habitat. We studied suchindicators as biomass distribution, parameters of the leaf mesostructure (the area and thickness of the leaf blade, thethickness of the mesophyll and epidermis, the size of cells and chloroplasts and their number per unit area of the leaf, thenumber of chloroplasts in cell, etc.). Pimpinella saxifraga, growing on the ash dump, showed a change in morphologicalparameters, compared with the control: a decrease in the weight of the roots, an increase in the weight of the aerialorgans, a decrease in the area of the leaf blade and the thickness of the leaf. The structural adaptation of mesophyll toenvironmental conditions consisted in changing the number and size of cells without changing the parameters of theplastid apparatus (number and size of chloroplasts). The properties of the substrate did not significantly influence on theinternal leaf area. Such adaptive changes allows this species to grow on technogenic substrates.