THE IMPORTANCE OF ACIDIC DEPOSITION AS AN ECOLOGICAL FACTOR IN TERRESTRIAL PLANT COMMUNITIES

Ziel

TO PROVIDE EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE, FROM ONE OF THE MOST GROSSLY POLLUTED REGIONS OF EUROPE, ON THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF ACIDIC DEPOSITION IN TERRESTRIAL PLANTS.

THE UPLAND AREA IMMEDIATELY TO THE EAST OF MANCHESTER HAS BEEN SUBJECT, FOR OVER 200 YEARS, TO A VERY LONG HISTORY OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION. TODAY, THE REGION CONTINUES TO BE SUBJECTED TO HIGH ACIDIC DEPOSITION, WET AND DRY, AND THIS REPRESENTS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO CHARACTERIZE THE ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THESE POLLUTIONS ON SEMI-NATURAL PLANT COMMUNITIES STILL EXISTING THERE. THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE IS MOST LIKELY TO BE EVIDENT IN EITHER THE LOSS OF PLANT SPECIES OR THE EVOLUTION OF RESISTANT ECOTYPES.

SPECIES OF WIDE EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION WILL BE SELECTED FROM A RANGE OF POPULATIONS IN BOTH THE POLLUTED SOUTHERN PENNINE REGION AND IN REGIONS REMOTE FROM INDUSTRIAL AREAS. THESE POPULATIONS WILL BE COMPARED IN A SERIES OF FIELD AND LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF ACIDIC DEPOSITION ON GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH ACID RAIN COLLECTED AT SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE YEAR IN THE SOUTHERN PENNINES AND IN REMOTE SITES TO COMPARE THE GERMINATION AND SEEDLING GROWTH OF POPULATIONS OF THE SPECIES. FIELD EXPERIMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED IN OPEN TOP CHAMBERS IN POLLUTED AND REMOTE REGIONS ON SOILS FROM BOTH AREAS. THE LONG TERM TREATMENTS WILL COMBINE FUMIGATION, PRECIPITATION WITH SIMULATION OF SOUTHERN MIST SOLUTIONS, AND AUTOMATIC SPRAYING SYSTEMS. THE CONCENTRATIONS OF SO2 AND NO2 IN THE AIR WILL BE MONITORED.
FOR EACH PLANT SPECIES, THERE WILL BE FOUR TREATMENTS, AND EACH TREATMENT WILL BE REPLICATED. GERMINATION AND GROWTH WILL BE RECORDED OVER AT LEAST A PERIOD OF 12 MONTHS. A SIMULATED "NATURAL" RAIN AT PH 5.5 WILL SERVE AS THE CONTROL TREATMENT.

Programm/Programme

PRE-ENVPROT 3C - Sectoral research and development programme (EEC) in the field of environment (environmental protection and climatology) - indirect and concerted actions - Environmental protection -, 1981-1985

Thema/Themen

Data not available

Aufforderung zur Vorschlagseinreichung

Data not available

Finanzierungsplan

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Koordinator

UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

EU-Beitrag

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Adresse

Oxford Road
M13 9PL MANCHESTER
Vereinigtes Königreich

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