Objective
TO PROVIDE INFORMATIONS ON THE ETIOLOGY OF FOREST DECLINE.
THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH PROGRAMME WILL BE DEVELOPED:
1. EFFECTS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE, OZONE, HYDROGEN, FLUORIDE AND ACIDIC RAIN ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WILL BE INVESTIGATED.
2. VARIOUS CLONES AND SEEDLINGS OF CONIFERS AND BEECH AS WELL AS SEVERAL ANNUAL PLANT SPECIES WILL BE TESTED.
3. EFFECTS-CRITERIA INCLUDE VISIBLE SYMPTOMS, YIELD AND PHYSIOLOGICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND SUBSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS.
4. TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF FROST AND DROUGHT STRESS, SOME EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CARRIED OUT UNDER EXTREME CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
5. SOME OF THE PLANTS WILL BE EXPOSED TO SIMULATED RAIN TO DETERMINE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF ACIDITY.
6. PLANTS WILL BE EXPOSED ON SUBSTRATES WITH VARIOUS AMOUNTS OF MAGNESIUM AND CALCIUM TO DETERMINE EFFECTS OF NUTRIENT LEVELS ON PLANTS RESPONSE.
7. LIGHT QUANTITY AND QUALITY WILL BE VARIED TO DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF LIGHT.
8. ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF NEEDLES FROM INJURED FOREST STANDS IN THE AREAS SAUERLAND, EGGEGEBIRGE, HOHER MEISSNER, AND SCHWARZWALD ARE PLANNED TO DETERMINE EFFECTS AT THE CELLULAR AND SUBCELLULAR LEVEL. COMPARISONS OF THESE RESULTS WITH THOSE OF THE GROWTH CHAMBER STUDIES ARE EXPECTED TO SHOW WHETER AND TO WHAT EXTENT THE ABOVE MENTIONED AIR POLLUTANTS ACTING ALONE OR IN COMBINATION ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OBSERVED FOREST-DECLINE.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
Germany