Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T04:12:48.750Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Response to three seasons of elevated ozone in the progeny of healthy and unhealthy Norway spruce trees from a plantation with the ‘top dying’ syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 1999

J. W. LEVERENZ
Affiliation:
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Department of Botany, Dendrology and Forest Genetics, Arboretum, Kirkegårdsvej 3A, DK-2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
G. PALUDAN-MÜLLER
Affiliation:
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Department of Botany, Dendrology and Forest Genetics, Arboretum, Kirkegårdsvej 3A, DK-2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
H. SAXE
Affiliation:
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Department of Botany, Dendrology and Forest Genetics, Arboretum, Kirkegårdsvej 3A, DK-2970 Hørsholm, Denmark
Get access

Abstract

We tested a hypothesis that elevated ozone was an eliciting or contributing factor in outbreaks of the ‘top dying’ (or ‘subtop dying’) syndrome in Norway spruce (Picea abies). Progeny were used from open-pollinated trees within a stand with the ‘top dying’ syndrome. The mother trees were classified in relation to the expression of the ‘top dying’ syndrome, and progeny from the healthiest and least healthy thirds of the population were exposed to high and low concentrations of ozone for three seasons. Elevated ozone did not affect height growth of the trees. It did not measurably affect net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance or instantaneous water use efficiency. Chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were also not significantly affected by ozone concentration. In the first year, instantaneous water use efficiency was lower in the progeny of the unhealthy mother trees than in the healthy mother trees. Furthermore, the unhealthy mother trees tended to produce longer annual shoots and showed more winter damage at the end of the experiment. None of these parameters were related to ozone concentration in the atmosphere. These results do not support a hypothesis that elevated ozone is a significant contributory factor or an eliciting factor in the development of the syndrome.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Trustees of the New Phytologist 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)