The effects of nutrient limitation on the response of Plantago major to ozone

Most natural and semi‐natural communities are limited by major nutrients such as nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P), but most experiments on the effects of ozone on wild plants have used nutrient‐rich composts or soil. In order to investigate interactions between ozone and low nutrient supply, two artificially selected lines (ozone‐resistant and ozone‐sensitive) of two populations Plantago major ssp. major L. were grown on a sandy loam, with (HN) and without (LN) addition of fertilizer. The soil was from a semi‐natural grassland that has never been fertilized. Plants were exposed to either charcoal/Purafil®‐filtered air (CF=<5 nl O₃ l⁻¹) or 70 nl O₃ l⁻¹ 7 h d⁻¹ from the seedling stage to seed production. Poor growth (c. 25% of that in HN) of the low‐nutrient plants, and leaf concentrations of N and P showed that the LN plants were severely nutrient‐limited. In addition to affecting the total dry mass of the plants, the nutrient supply altered seed production, reproductive effort (number of seeds per total mass) and root‐to‐shoot allocation. Exposure to ozone had significant effects on physiology, growth, and seed production that varied with population, selection line, time, and plant development. There also were significant interactions between ozone effects and nutrient regime. In the Lullington Heath population, ozone reduced plant dry weight at 4 wk only in the LN treatment, and in the sensitive line of the Bush population, seed production was reduced by ozone only in LN. Therefore, contrary to what was expected, in the present experiment, plants given the LN treatment were often more sensitive to ozone than those grown under the high‐nutrient regime. This increase in sensitivity was despite the fact that the LN treatment reduced stomatal conductance and ozone flux. It is concluded that there are potentially important interactions between ozone and low nutrient supply that need further investigation, particularly under field conditions.