The Strong and the Stronger: The Effects of Increasing Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations in Pollen of Different Forest Species

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Pereira, S (Author) Other; Fernandez Gonzalez, M (Author) Other; Guedes, A (Author) FCUP; Abreu, I (Author) FCUP; Ribeiro, H (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Forests

Vol. 12

Pages: 1-16

ISSN: 1999-4907

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 7 Citations

Scopus - 7 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-9TB

DOI: 10.3390/f12010088

Abstract (EN): The knowledge of pollen sensitivity and tolerance to stress factors such as air pollution is important for forest sustainability, ensuring the most efficient production with the highest benefits and lowest resource losses. This study intended to evaluate the influence of common air pollutants in four forest trees species, Betula pendula Roth, Corylus avellana L., Acer negundo L. and Quercus robur L., through a comparative analysis at the same experimental conditions. We aimed to investigate the effect that may occur in pollen fertility, protein content, oxidative stress and wall composition after exposure in vitro to ozone and nitrogen dioxide at concentration levels for vegetation protection in Europe. Our results suggest changes in pollen viability, protein content and differential sensitivity related to ROS synthesis, NADPH oxidase activity, as well as in wall composition. The results indicate that NO2 exposure affected more the pollen species studied mostly at the highest concentration exposure. As for ozone, there were less significant differences between samples; however, a different behavior occurs in O-3 expositions, where the most influence happens at the legal limit for vegetation protection in Europe. Our study showed that significant pollen functions could be compromised even at common air pollutant's concentrations.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 16