Abstract
O3, SO2 and NO2 have all been shown to exert effects on plants which are likely to influence water relations. In this paper a review of evidence (often confusing) from the literature is presented, followed by a description of two phenomena which we have recently studied in detail. It has been known for some time that plants exposed to SO2, or to mixtures of SO2 and NO2, often display differences in stomatal behaviour from those in clean air. We have grown spring barley in SO2 and NO2 (24–35 ppb of each gas) and examined the ability of leaves to regulate water loss. The stomata were found to be much less responsive to ABA after exposure. In other respects the stomata of polluted plants appeared to function normally (e.g., they showed similar responses to CO2). Accumulation of ABA in water-stressed leaves appeared to be unaffected by the pollution treatment. We have concluded that the impairment of stomatal sensitivity to ABA may adversely affect the water relations of polluted plants. In other experiments, young trees of Fagus sylvatica (beech) were exposed to realistic doses of ozone in summer. In well-watered trees ozone inhibited stomatal opening, but in trees growing in dry soil, and thus experiencing water stress, stomatal closure was significantly inhibited by ozone. We suggest that ozone may have two deleterious effects on beech: inhibition of CO2 acquisition when water supplies are adequate, and interference with the protective role of stomatal closure during periods of water stress.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Atkinson CJ, Wookey PA, Mansfield TA (1991) Atmospheric pollution and the sensitivity of stomata on barley leaves to abscisic acid and carbon dioxide. The New Phytologist 117: 535–541
Black CR, Black VJ (1979) The effects of low concentrations of sulphur dioxide on stomatal conductance and epidermal cell survival in field beans (Vicia faba L.). Journal of Experimental Botany 30: 291–298
Darrall NM (1989) The effect of air pollutants on physiological processes in plants. Plant, Cell and Environment 12: 1–30
Davies WJ, Zhang J (1991) Root signals and the regulation of growth and development of plants in drying soil. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 42: 55–76
Farage PK, Long SP, Lechner EG, Baker NR (1991) The sequence of change within the photosynthetic apparatus of wheat following short-term exposure to ozone. Plant Physiology 95: 529–535
Godzik S, Piskornik Z (1966) Transpiration of Aesculus hippocastanum leaves from areas of various air pollution. Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Science, Series B 14: 181–184
Hartung W (1983) The site of action of abscisic acid at the guard cell plasma- lemma of Valerianella locusta. Plant, Cell and Environment 6: 427–428
Hetherington AM, Quatrano RS (1991) Mechanisms of action of abscisic acid at the cellular level. The New Phytologist 119: 9–32
Lonsdale D (1986) Beech health study, 1986. Forestry Commission Research and Development paper 149, UK Forestry Commission, Edinburgh
Lucas PW (1990) The effects of prior exposure to sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide on the water relations of Timothy Grass (Phleum pratense) under drought conditions. Environmental Pollution 66: 117–138
Lucas PW, Cottam DA, Mansfield TA (1987) A large-scale fumigation system for investigating interactions between air pollution and cold stress in plants. Environmental Pollution 43: 15–28
Macdowall FDH (1965) Predisposition of tobacco to ozone damage. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 45: 1–12
McAinsh MR, Brownlee C, Hetherington AM (1990) Abscisic acid-induced elevation of guard cell cytosolic Ca2+ precedes stomatal closure. Nature (London) 343: 186–188
McAinsh MR, Brownlee C, Hetherington AM (1991) Partial inhibition of ABA induced stomatal closure by calcium channel blockers. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B243: 195–201
Neighbour EA, Cottam DA, Mansfield TA (1988) Effects of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide on the control of water loss by birch (Betula spp.). The New Phytologist 108: 149–157
Schroeder JI, Hagiwara S (1990) Repetitive increases in cytosolic Ca2+ of guard cells by abscisic acid activation of nonselective Ca2+ permeable channels. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 87: 9305–9309
Taylor G, Dobson MC (1989) Photosynthetic characteristics, stomatal responses and water relations of Fagus sylvatica: impact of air quality at a site in southern Britain. The New Phytologist 113: 265–273
Taylor JS, Reid DM, Pharis RP (1981) Mutual antagonism of sulfur dioxide and abscisic acid in the effect on stomatal aperture in broad bean (Vicia faba L.) epidermal strips. Plant Physiology 68: 1504–1507
Walker EK, Vickery LD (1961) Influence of sprinkler irrigation on the incidence of weather fleck on flue-cured tobacco in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 41: 281–287
Wellburn AR (1988) Air pollution and acid rain: the biological impact. Longman UK
Wright STC (1977) The relationships between leaf water potential and the levels of abscisic acid and ethylene in excised wheat leaves. Planta 134: 183–189
Zhang J, Davies WJ (1987) ABA in roots and leaves of flooded pea plants. Journal of Experimental Botany 38: 649–659
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mansfield, T.A., Pearson, M., Atkinson, C.J., Wookey, P.A. (1993). Ozone, Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides: Some Effects on the Water Relations of Herbaceous Plants and Trees. In: Jackson, M.B., Black, C.R. (eds) Interacting Stresses on Plants in a Changing Climate. NATO ASI Series, vol 16. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78533-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78533-7_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-78535-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-78533-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive