Juhani Jokinen , Antti Häkkinen, Reijo Karjalainen, Kari Markkanen, Tapani Säynätkari

Effects of air pollution on Scots pine needles. I.

Jokinen J., Häkkinen A., Karjalainen R., Markkanen K., Säynätkari T. (1983). Effects of air pollution on Scots pine needles. I. Silva Fennica vol. 17 no. 3 article id 5193. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15176

Abstract

The effect of meteorological factors, the total sulphur content of the needles, and SO₂ concentration in the ambient air on total peroxidase activity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) needles was investigated in material obtained from Southern Finland. The correlation between temperature and total peroxidase activity was highest during the most active growing period. Linear correlation between relative humidity and total peroxidase activity appears to be low. The correlation between atmospheric SO₂ concentration and total peroxidase activity was also low and varied inconsistently. The detected low association between the sulphur dioxide pollutant and the total peroxidase activity was assumed to be related to the sensitivity of peroxidase activity, many eco-physiological factors and to the genetic variation in conifers. It is difficult to separate a response due to this pollutant from environmental and genetic factors in a complex coniferous forest. Using total peroxidase activity as a routine indicator of air pollution seems to be unsuitable because of the large sample size required in order to obtain a reliable measurement of the pollutant’s effect under low pollution levels.

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Keywords
Pinus sylvestris; needles; Scots pine; air pollution; sulphur dioxide; peroxidase activity

Published in 1983

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