An open-top chamber experiment was carried out from April through October 2006 to examine the effects of elevated (80 nmol mol-1) atmospheric O3 on Ginkgo biloba (4-years-old) in urban area. The air with ambient O3 (AA, ≈ 45 nmol mol-1) was used as control. The leaf mass and size, leaf area index, net photosynthetic rate (PN), apparent quantum yield, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance were decreased by elevated O3 (EO) exposure. Visible foliar injury, which is light-brown flecks, was observed in the EO OTCs after 90 d of exposure. Carboxylation efficiency (ΦCO2) and photorespiration and dark respiration rates were enhanced by EO exposure in the first half of the season, but all of them turned to be lower than those of the AA control at the end of experiment. Stomata limitation of photosynthesis was significantly higher than control in the whole season (p<0.05). Chlorophyll (Chl) content was lower in EO variant than in the control and the difference became more and more apparent through the season. Hence the decrease in PN of G. biloba exposed to EO was the result of both stomatal and non-stomatal limitations. In the early season, the inhibition of photosynthesis was mainly caused by the stomatal limitation, and the earliest response was photoprotective down-regulation of photosynthesis but not photodamage. However, at the end of the season, the non-stomatal limiting factors such as decrease in Chl content, decrease in ΦCO2, and anti-oxidative enzyme activity became more important. and X.-Y. He ... [et al.].
Leafless Duvalia velutina Lavranos (Apocynaceae) is an
arido-active stem succulent common in the arid region southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. This region is characterized by a short wet season with erratic rainfall and a long dry season with high temperature and high irradiance. We investigated the survival strategy of D. velutina by studying nurse association, gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Results showed that D. velutina exhibited the strict nurse association with shade for protection against heat and high irradiance. Results also showed that D. velutina is an obligate CAM plant with ample physiotypic plasticity involving a shift to CAM-idling under prolonged drought. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements revealed water stress-induced reduction of PSII activity occurring in concomitance with a marked rise of nonphotochemical quenching and chlorenchyma anthocyanin content. These results reflected photoprotective capacity involving nonradiative excess energy dissipation and antioxidative attributes. We concluded that the complex survival strategy of D. velutina in its natural arid habitat includes a multifaceted interplay of nurse association, physiotypic plasticity, and photoprotective mechanisms., Y. S. Masrahi, T. A. Al-Turki, O. H. Sayed., and Obsahuje seznam literatury