Ethylenediurea(EDU)has been used as a chemical protectant against ozone(O3).However,its protective effect and physiological mechanisms are still uncertain.The present study aimed to investigate the changes of foliar visible injury,physiological characteristics and emission rates of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)in one-year-old Populus alba"Berolinensis"saplings pretreated with EDU and exposed to elevated O3(EO,120μg/m3).The results showed that foliar visible injury symptoms under EO were significantly alleviated in plants with EDU application(p<0.05).Under EO,net photosynthetic rate,the maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII and the photochemical efficiency of PSII of plants pretreated with 300 and600 mg/L EDU were similar to unexposed controls and significantly higher compared to EOstressed plants without EDU pretreatment,respectively.Malondialdehyde content was highest in EO without EDU and decreased significantly by 14.9%and 21.3%with 300 and600 mg/L EDU pretreatment,respectively.EDU pretreatment alone increased superoxide dismutase activity by 10-fold in unexposed plants with further increases of 88.4%and 37.5%in EO plants pretreated with 300 and 600 mg/L EDU pretreatment,respectively(p<0.05).Abscisic acid content declined under EO relative to unexposed controls with the effect partially reversed by EDU pretreatments.Similarly,VOCs emission rate declined under EO relative to unexposed plants with a recovery of emission rate observed with 300 and 600 mg/L EDU pretreatment.These findings provided significant evidence that EDU exerted a beneficial effect and protection on the tested plants against O3 stress.
Sheng XuXingyuan HeKent BurkeyWei ChenPin LiYan LiBo LiYijing Wang
Change in plant phenology is one of the most sensitive ecological responses to climate warming. Little information is known about the effects of climate warming on phenology of urban tree species in the northern forest of China. In this study, we investigated the phenological characteristics of the main tree species in the urban forest of Shengyang City in China and the correlation between phenology and atmospheric temperature from the discontinuous data during past 42 years over three time periods(from 1962 to 1965, 1977 to 1978, and 2000 to 2005). The results showed that the annual average temperature in Shenyang City showed an increasing trend and increased by 0.96℃ from 1962 to 2005 due to climate warming. The germination phenology of the urban trees was negatively correlated with the temperature in winter and early spring. The leafing phenology was mainly influenced by the temperature in spring before leafing. Influenced by climate warming, the germination, leafing, and flowering phenologies of this urban forest in 2005 were 14, 13, and 10 days earlier than those in 1962, respectively. We inferred that further warming in winter might prolong the growing season of urban trees in the northern forest of China.
HE XingyuanXU ShengXU WenduoCHEN WeiHUANG YanqingWEN Hua
