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Die Postulate von Koch und die Luftverschmutzung

Koch’s postulates and the aerial pollution environment

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Zusammenfassung

Der PathologeKoch hat 1891 das Postulat aufgestellt, daß ein Krankheitserreger, der einer Pflanze (einem Tier usw.) eingeimpft wird, dieselben Schäden verursachen müsse wie ein Befall mit dem gleichen Erreger in der Natur. Diese Forderung muß auch für die Erforschung aller Gegebenheiten der Luftverschmutzung, des “Milieus” der Luftverunreinigung, gelten: Luftverunreinigungen, mit denen gesunde Pflanzen im Experiment begast werden, müssen die gleichen Schäden verursachen wie die entsprechenden Verunreinigungen in der Natur.

Diese Forderung ist aber in der Erforschung der Luftverunreinigungen und ihrer Auswirkungen auf die Pflanzen nicht beachtet worden. Daher findet man heute in der umfangreichen Literatur über dieses Problem zum Teil widersprüchliche Ergebnisse. Zwar war es möglich, aufgrund der äußeren Erscheinungen von Pflanzenschäden Empfindlichkeitsstufen von Baumarten gegenüber Luftverunreinigungen zu erarbeiten; man konnte durch Messungen Tages- und Jahresmittelwerte der luftverunreinigenden Stoffe für bestimmte Gebiete erhalten; Nadel- und Laubanalysen auf bestimmte Schadstoffe aus der Luft konnten weiterhelfen—trotzdem kommt in allem keine richtige Vorstellung von der Natur der Luftverunreinigungen zum Ausdruck.

Die Autoren geben einen umfassenden Überblick über die Literatur, weisen aber zugleich darauf hin, daß das “Luftverunreinigungs-Milieu” ein sehr vielschichtiges System darstellt und zudem von anderen Gegebenheiten abhängt, besonders auch hinsichtlich seiner potentiellen Pflanzenschädigungen. Die Hauptschadstoffe und deren chemische Verbindungen werden behandelt bis hin in den Bereich der Zelle und biochemischer Fragen.

Die Forschung muß jetzt darauf achten, nicht nur Teile des Problems (wie z. B. einwirkende Mittelwerte eines bestimmten Schadstoffes), sondern das Ganze in allen seinen Verzweigungen zu sehen. Es reicht nicht, nur die physiologischen Folgen von Luftverunreinigungen auf das Baumwachstum zu erforschen, sondern das Bemühen um Erkenntnis des Luftverunreinigungs-Milieus selbst muß gleichberechtigt hinzutreten.

Summary

In 1891, the pathologistKoch postulated that injecting a pathogen into a plant (an animal, etc.) must result in damage identical to that caused by the same one under field conditions. This postulate has to be valid also for research on all aspects of air pollution and its “environment”: air pollutants applied to healthy plants during an experiment must cause the same damage as they do under field conditions.

This postulate, however, has not been considered in research concerning air pollution and its effects on plants. Therefore, in part contradictory results may be found today in the voluminous literature on this problem. On the basis of visible symptoms of injury to plants it has been possible to establish grades of sensitivity of tree species to air pollution. Daily and annual mean values of air pollutants for certain areas were obtained; foliar analyses aimed at finding out about particular air-borne harmful substances helped—but regardless of all, there is no clear perception about the nature of air pollution.

The authors presents a comprehensive literature review. At the same time they also point out that the “air pollution environment” is a many-layered system which is dependent on other facts, too, especially in regard to potential injuries to plants. The major harmful substances and their chemical compounds are discussed including the sphere of the plant cell, and biochemical questions.

Research now not only has to consider parts of the problem (e. g. effects of mean levels of a certain damaging agent), but must rather focus on the problem in its entirety with all its ramifications. It is not sufficient to investigate just the physiological effects of air pollutants on tree growth; the effort to perceive the “air pollution environment”, too, has to be included as being equally important.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Bush Estate, nr. Penicuik, EH26 OQB, Midlothian, Scotland

    F. T. Last & D. Fowler

  2. University of Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, Lancaster, Lancs., England

    P. H. Freer-Smith

Authors
  1. F. T. Last
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  2. D. Fowler
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  3. P. H. Freer-Smith
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Last, F.T., Fowler, D. & Freer-Smith, P.H. Die Postulate von Koch und die Luftverschmutzung. Forstw Cbl 103, 28–48 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02744213

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