The Pigment Composition of the Needles of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco during its Introduction in the Conditions of Russia and Kazakhstan

The pigment composition of the leaf apparatus of the Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco has been studied during its introduction to the territory of the Russian Federation (the Nizhny Novgorod Region) and the Republic of Kazakhstan (the Almaty Region). The relevance of the work is determined by the need to improve the range of urban green spaces. Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco is in high demand in this context. The object of the study has been its same-aged individuals of seed origin, planted in areas with coordinates 56°14'30'' N 43°57'16'' E (Russia) and 43°14'31'' N, 76°57'7'' E (Kazakhstan), thus the difference in geographical latitude has been 12°59'59'' N, and in longitude – 33°0'51'' E. The subject of the study has been the territorial variability of the content and ratio of plastid pigments of 1-year-old needles simultaneously sampled in the specified locations. The spectrophotometric method has been used in the work. The reaction of the pigment composition of the needles to changes in the growth conditions of introduced species in geographically separated areas has been established. The chlorophyll content varies and is higher in the Kazakh location than in the Russian one. The concentration of carotenoids has varied to a lesser extent, and in the Kazakh location (0.30±0.016 mg/g) it has been lower than in the Russian one (0.34±0.006 mg/g). One-way ANOVA has revealed a significant difference in the pigment composition of the needles of biota individuals. The coefficient of heritability in the Kazakh site has ranged from 32.50±13.50 % for the carotenoid content to 69.30±6.14 % for the proportion of chlorophyll-b in the total pigment composition; in the Russian site – from 40.64±11.87 % for the carotenoid content to 79.59±4.08 % for the ratio of the carotenoid content to the total chlorophyll content. Two-way ANOVA has confirmed the statistical significance of the differentiating effect of differences in forest growth conditions of the sites of settlement of introduced species on the formation of the general background of phenotypic dispersion of the pigment composition of their needles. The highest estimates of the indicated effect (85.25±0.37 %) have been achieved for the proportion of chlorophyll-b in the pigment composition, the lowest (9.19±2.27 %) – for the content of carotenoids. The influence of individual variability of individuals in each of the sites is less, and its estimates have more often not been statistically confirmed: from 4.61±9.54 % (the proportion of chlorophyll-a in the total pigment composition) to 27.83±7.22 % (the content of chlorophyll-a). Changes in the growth conditions of biota individuals associated with their placement in different areas have caused a decrease in the concentration of chlorophylls and an increase in the content of carotenoids in their needles in the Russian location.