The effects of air pollutants on forest trees from a plant physiological view
1989
Weigel, H.J. (Bundesforschungsanstalt fuer Landwirtschaft, Braunschweig (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Produktions- und Oekotoxikologie) | Halbwachs, G. | Jaeger, H.J.
Focusing on the gaseous air pollutants SO2, NO2, O3 and HF, changes of physiological and biochemical parameters of the plant cell as possible explanations for the current forest diseases are summarized. Structural changes of foliar and needle surfaces are first described as these are primary targets for these gases. The mechanisms underlying the uptake of gaseous pollutant into the plant together with the factors that influence this uptake are described. Wind speed, the permeability of the cuticle and the stomatal aperture are mainly influencing the pollutant uptake. The stomatal aperture does not only respond to secondary factors but also to the pollutant itself. After having entered the plant interior, a pollutant or its reaction products may change several physiological or biochemical processes of the cell. As an overall toxicity parameters in this article, the general effects of acids, the formation of free radicals and the mechanism for their detoxification, respectively and the destruction of the membrane system of the cell are characterized. By measuring physiological, biochemical and chemical parameters and by combining the parameters to form a chain of facts based upon each other, it should be possible to elucidate the causes of the pollutant damage to a plant
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