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THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON PLANT GROWTH WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SULPHUR DIOXIDE. III. GROWTH STUDIES WITH LOLIUM MULTIFLORUM LAM. AND DACTYLIS GLOMERATA L.
Author(s) -
CRITTENDEN P. D.,
READ D. J.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1979.tb02296.x
Subject(s) - lolium multiflorum , dactylis glomerata , germination , dry weight , lolium , shoot , horticulture , relative growth rate , botany , biology , agronomy , growth rate , poaceae , geometry , mathematics
S ummaryLolium multiflorum cv. S22 and Dactylis glomerata cv. S143 were grown in a sealed glass chamber, force‐ventilated with ambient SO 2 ‐polluted air and the yields compared with those of control plants grown in a second chamber receiving filtered air, free of SO 2 and particulates. Shoot dry weight of both species was reduced by 30 to 40 % after 8 to 10 weeks in unfiltered air containing mean SO 2 concentrations of 50 to 90 μg m −3 , growth reductions being readily detectable after 3 weeks from transplanting seedlings to the chambers. The productivity of L. multiflorum was only marginally depressed (c. 10 %) by late summer SO 2 levels in the range 10 to 50 μg m −3 . It is suggested that grass plants may be particularly susceptible to SO 2 pollution during the early growth phase following germination when aerodynamic resistance is low and relative growth rate maximal. The possibility that environmental factors other than SO 2 pollution contributed to the inhibitory effect of the unfiltered air treatment is discussed.