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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2016, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (5): 92-100.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20160511

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Effects of Different Acid Rain Treatments on Biomass Allocation and Physiological Characteristics in Elaeocarpus glabripetalus Seedlings

Yu Fei1, Song Qi2, Liu Meihua1, Dong Lianchun1, Yi Lita1   

  1. 1. School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University Lin'an 311300;
    2. School of Biotechnology, Hangzhou Wanxiang Polytechnic Hangzhou 310023
  • Received:2015-05-19 Revised:2015-08-04 Online:2016-05-25 Published:2016-06-01

Abstract:

[Objective] Comparisons of direct, indirect and composition effects of acid rain treatments on biomass allocation and physiological characteristics in Elaeocarpus glabripetalus seedlings were carried out in order to provide a scientific basis to study the mechanism of E. glabripetalus seedlings responding to simulated acid rain. [Method] Potted plants were used to establish the experiment, treatments included 2 different pH values of acid rain (pH2.5 and pH5.6) and 4 different models of exposure to acid rain, including 1) aboveground exposure: only the aboveground of seedlings were exposed to acid rain; 2) soil exposure: only the soil around seedlings was exposed to acid rain; 3)whole exposure: the seedlings and soil were both exposed to acid rain; 4) Control: exposed to distilled water with pH7.0. Biomass accumulation and allocation, chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics, malondialdehyde(MDA) content and membrane permeability, the activity of antioxidant enzymes were measured. [Result] 1)The growth of seedlings were inhabited to different extents when exposed to acid rain at pH2.5 level, and significant differences were found among the 3 models of exposure to acid rain. Compared with the control, total biomass, height increment, diameter increment of seedlings for the model of aboveground exposure decreased by 16.7%, 28.1% and 25.7% respectively; those of soil exposure decreased by 10.9%, 4.7% and 17.5% respectively; those of whole exposure decreased by 18.5%, 5.2% and 27.5% respectively. For the underground exposure, the ratio of leaf biomass to total biomass increased, and those of stem and root biomass decreased. The chlorophyll a (Chl a) content, total chlorophyll (total Chl) content, chlorophyll a/b(Chl a/b) were significantly lower than those of the control. For the aboveground exposure, primary photochemical efficiency of PSⅡ(Fv/Fm) and potential activity of PSⅡ(Fv/Fo) were significantly lower than those for the control; for the whole exposure the Fv/Fo and actual photochemical efficiency of PSⅡ (ΦPS) were significantly lower than those for the control; No significant differences were found between the soil exposure and the control in Fv/Fm, Fv/Fo and ΦPS. For all the 3 exposure models, membrane permeability, MDA content and antioxidant enzymes activity were significantly higher than those for the control, and those for the soil exposure were the highest. 2)At the pH5.6 level, there were no significant difference in biomass of seedlings between the 3 exposure models and the control, but Chl a content, total Chl content and Chl a/b decreased significantly, and membrane permeability, MDA content, peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) activity increased significantly compared with the control. For the aboveground exposure and the whole exposure, Fv/Fo and ΦPS were significantly lower than those for the control. [Conclusion] The soil exposure had both negative and positive effect on the seedlings, while the aboveground and whole exposures inhabited the seedlings, and the effect of whole exposure was greater than that of aboveground exposure, but the whole exposure did not change the biomass allocation of seedlings. The effect of acid rain at pH5.6 on seedlings was significantly lower than that of acid rain at pH2.5.

Key words: acid rain, Elaeocarpus glabripetalus, biomass allocation, chlorophyll fluorescence, membrane permeability, MDA, antioxidant enzyme activity

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