Physiological and biochemical responses of Machilus ichangensis Rehd. et Wils and Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. to elevated O3 in subtropical China

Abstract

Considerable researches have documented the negative effects of ozone on woody species in North America and Europe; however, little is known about how woody tree species respond to elevated O3 in subtropical China, and most of the previous studies were conducted using pot experiment. In the present study, Machilus ichangensis Rehd. et Wils (M. ichangensis) and Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. (T. chinensis), evergreen tree species in subtropical China, were exposed to non-filtered air (NF), 100nmolmol-1 O3 (E1) and 150nmolmol-1 O3 (E2), in open-top chambers under field conditions from 21st March to 2nd November 2015. In this study, O3 fumigation significantly reduced net photosynthesis rate (Pn) in M. ichangensis in the three measurements and in T. chinensis in the last measurement. Also, non-stomatal factors should be primarily responsible for the decreased Pn. O3 fumigation-induced increase in malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and reduced ascorbic acid levels indicated that antioxidant defense mechanism had been stimulated to prevent O3 stress and repair the oxidative damage. Yet, the increase of antioxidant ability was not enough to counteract the harm of O3 fumigation. Because of the decrease in CO2 assimilation, the growth of the two tree species was restrained ultimately. The sensitivity of the two tree species to O3 can be determined: M. ichangensis>T. chinensis. It suggests a close link between the rising O3 concentrations and the health risk of some tree species in subtropics in the near future.