Seasonal Changes in Chlorophyll and Carotenoid Content in Needles of Scots Pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) Exposed to the Thermal Field of a Gas Flare

Seasonal changes in chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid (Car) content were analyzed in needle samples from young Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing in the thermal field zone at various distances from the petroleum gas flare. Experiments were performed in Khanty Mansi Autonomous Area (Yugra) of Russia throughout the autumn–winter–spring period. Two hypotheses were subject to verification: (1) the thermal field of petroleum gas combustion flame imitates the influence of climate warming on plants, thus affecting the pigment complex of the photosynthetic apparatus (PSA) in pine needles; (2) transformations of PSA pigment complex in pine needles throughout the autumn–winter–spring period are sensitive to a long-term rise in ambient temperature by 1–2°С. In the winter period, the seasonal dynamics of certain PSA parameters comprised maxima and minima that are supposedly due to the regulation of Chl and Car content upon changes in air temperature. In trees growing under divergent thermal conditions, seasonal changes of these parameters were not synchronous. Analysis of seasonal changes revealed that winter-related transformations of the PSA structural–functional condition in needles are subject to consistent variations at different distances from the gas flame. The PSA activity of needles throughout the studied period was higher near the flame and decreased with the distance from the gas flare. When Chl content in needles decreased in autumn–winter, the smallest reduction was observed in the location near the gas flare (site I) where temperature was 1–2°C higher than the background level. The intermediate decrease in pigment content was noted at a moderate distance from the flame (site III), while the most pronounced decrease occurred at the largest distance from the gas flare (site VII). At the same time, the Chl a/b content ratio in needles was consistently lower for trees located at site I than at site VII. Hence, the amount of light-harvesting complexes in chloroplasts from trees grown at site I was higher than the amount of photosystems in the same chloroplasts. The Chl (a + b)/Car ratio in needles of trees grown near the gas flare (site I) was higher than in locations III and VII. This ratio displayed two significant peaks in the winter dynamics, which was supposedly due to the sufficient preservation of green pigments. Divergent seasonal changes in Chl and Car content and their dissimilar correlations with air temperature indicate that the pools of these pigments are controlled by different mechanisms. The actual Chl content, determined by the balance of pigment degradation and synthesis, should depend on the environmentally modified Chl synthesis and on the protective function of Car. Photosynthesizing cells produce additional amounts of carotenoids during autumn–winter, thus preventing the photodegradation of Chl in the period from autumn to late spring.