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Metabolic responses of plants differing in SO2 sensitivity towards SO2 fumigation

1985; Elsevier BV; Volume: 39; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0143-1471(85)90113-8

1878-0709

Hans‐Jürgen Jäger, Jürgen Bender, Ludger Grünhage,

Plant responses to elevated CO2

To study the variations of plant response to sulphur dioxide, fumigation experiments were carried out with plants which have different sensitivities to SO2. After SO2 exposure it was obvious that the pea cultivar Späths Violetta (SV) is more sensitive to the pollutant than the pea cultivar Wunder von Kelvedon (WvK, Kelvedon Wonder). In comparison to SV, after 18 days of exposure, the less sensitive WvK showed increases in yield at lower SO2 concentrations, sulphur accumulation in roots, and higher putrescine concentrations. After a short-term fumigation with 1·5 mg SO2 m−3 differences between the cultivars could be recognised concerning the contents of sulphite and malondialdehyde and the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase. In a fumigation experiment with deciduous trees, Tilia cordata was more sensitive to SO2 than Populus nigra. This is revealed by the fresh/dry weight ratio, the sulphur content and the peroxidase activity. Besides that, the variations in susceptibility correlate with the results of a screening of the plants. Both SV and the sensitive Tilia cordata revealed lower buffering capacities for H+ ions. Moreover, they showed a lower superoxide dismutase activity than the non-sensitive plants. These findings demonstrate that SO2 tolerant plants have a more effective mechanism for the compensation of injurious reactions in metabolism than non-tolerant plants.