Growth and Nitrogen Availability of Red Pine Seedlings under High Nitrogen Load and Elevated Ozone

Authors: Nakaji T.¹; Kobayashi T.²; Kuroha M.³; Omori K.³; Matsumoto Y.³; Yonekura T.³; Watanabe K.³; Utriainen J.³; Izuta T.⁴

Source: Water, Air and Soil Pollution: Focus, Volume 4, Numbers 2-3, June 2004 , pp. 277-287(11)

Publisher: Springer

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By this author: Nakaji T. ; Kobayashi T. ; Kuroha M. ; Omori K. ; Matsumoto Y. ; Yonekura T. ; Watanabe K. ; Utriainen J. ; Izuta T.

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Abstract:

To evaluate the effect of increasing nitrogen (N) deposition and tropospheric ozone (O₃) concentrations on N-saturated forest ecosystems, we investigated the response of Japanese red pine (textit{Pinus densiflora}), an N-saturation sensitive tree species, to increasing N load under elevated O₃ concentrations. One-year-old seedlings of red pine were treated with three levels of N supply (0, 50 and 100 mg N L^-1 fresh soil volume) under two levels of atmospheric O₃ concentration (< 5 and 60 ppb) for two growing seasons. Nitrogen treatment did not stimulate dry matter production of the seedlings. Growth inhibition was observed in the highest N treatment under low O₃ and in the two higher N treatments under elevated O₃. Irrespective of the O₃ concentration, increasing N supply negatively affected root growth and mycorrhizal development in fine roots, resulting in a reduction in P and Mg uptake from the soil. Net photosynthetic rate was significantly reduced by both the highest N treatment under low O₃ and the two higher N treatments under elevated O₃, together with decreased N-availability to Rubisco. Nitrogen assimilated from NO₃^- to amino acid in the needles was not affected by the treatments. However, needle protein concentration was reduced by the highest N-treatment under low O₃ and by the two higher N-treatments under elevated O₃. These results suggest that elevated O₃ potentially disturbs the N-availability in the form of protein including Rubisco, and may advance the negative effects of excessive N-deposition on N-sensitive plant species in N-saturated forests.

Keywords: nitrogen; nitrogen availability; ozone; photosynthesis; red pine

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1023/B:WAFO.0000028360.61672.8d

Affiliations: 1: Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8506, Japan 2: Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Abiko, Chiba 270–1194, Japan 3: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183–8509, Japan 4: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo 183–8509, Japan (author for correspondence, izuta@cc.tuat.ac.jp; phone: +81-42-3675728;, Fax: +81-42-3675728), Email: izuta@cc.tuat.ac.jp