Phytol as a possible indicator of ozone stress by Picea abies

Abstract

This work is based on a project where the effect of ozone (< 10, 200 or 400 μg/m 3) on hexane-soluble components of Picea abies needles was investigated ( Ogner (1993) Environ. Pollut., 82, 223-9 ). The trees representing six clones of Picea abies were fumigated in open-top chambers at two locations in Norway, Aas and Bergen, for one growth season. The gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis showed that the concentrations of four of the compounds from the hexane extract changed with ozone dose in a way that made them promising as indicators. However, at that time no identification of the compounds was made. The same ozone treated plant material was utilized in this study and one of the compounds, analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), was identified as phytol. The remaining indicators were not identified due to either poorly separated peaks or too low a concentration.