Heavy metals in the air can induce negative effects on vegetation, such as lower growth and development. This in turn can cause a decrease of crop yield and negatively influence protective functions of plants against air pollutant distribution. Biomonitoring of trace elements using higher plants is widely tested. Italian ryegrass is one of the commonly used heavy metal bioindicators, which can be used for evaluation of other effects on plants. Specific leaf area (SLA) and relative water content (RWC) of this species were analysed in the present study. Plants were exposed at five sites differing in environmental conditions. The experiment revealed an increase of leaf thickness due to increased heavy metal concentrations in ambient air, while higher trace element concentrations caused a decrease of relative water content of exposed plants. Overall, based on our results, we can conclude that trace element concentrations in ambient air were high enough to affect Lolium multiflorum L. water relations, but too low to influence leaf blade thickness.
Full text available in English in Adobe Acrobat format:https://www.npt.up-poznan.net/pub/art_8_15.pdf
| MLA | Borowiak, Klaudia, and Jagoda Fidler. "Specific leaf area and relative water content of Italian ryegrass leaves exposed to heavy metals in ambient air conditions." Nauka Przyr. Technol. 8.2 (2014): #15. |
| APA | Klaudia Borowiak, Jagoda Fidler (2014). Specific leaf area and relative water content of Italian ryegrass leaves exposed to heavy metals in ambient air conditions. Nauka Przyr. Technol. 8 (2), #15 |
| ISO 690 | BOROWIAK, Klaudia, FIDLER, Jagoda. Specific leaf area and relative water content of Italian ryegrass leaves exposed to heavy metals in ambient air conditions. Nauka Przyr. Technol., 2014, 8.2: #15. |
Klaudia Borowiak
Katedra Ekologii i Ochrony Środowiska
Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu
ul. Piątkowska 94
60-649 Poznań
e-mail: klaudine@up.poznan.pl