SORPTION AND PERMEABILITY OF AIR POLLUTANTS BY PLANT CUTICLES

Ziel

TO ELUCIDATE MECHANISMS OF PERMEABILITY OF PLANT CUTICLES SUBMITTED TO AIR POLLUTION.
The main impediments to the permeation of gases through plant cuticles are the soluble cuticular lipids embedded within the cuticles. Only hydrogen sulphide and its methyl derivative are exceptions for which transport is not limited by the lipids. In the environment, binding of nitrogen dioxide to plant cuticles does not seem to be important.
Sorption of gases by plant cuticles is a complex phenomenon. Partition coefficients, K, were found to be around 30 to 40 at high partial pressures of the gases. The lower the partial pressures the higher the partition coefficients. K-values increase exponentially with decreasing partial pressures. K-values are around 300 at 5 kPa (sulpher dioxide) and around 4000 at 1000 parts per million (nitrogen dioxide). These data point to the interesting fact that plant cuticles are able to sorb enormous amounts of air polluting gases especially at low partial pressures of the gases.
PLANT CUTICLES ARE BARRIERS BETWEEN THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE INTERIOR OF PLANTS. THEY ARE THE FIRST TARGET FOR ANY ATTACK FROM THE ATMOSPHERE. THE INTERACTIONS OF THE AIR POLLUTANTS SO2, NOX AND O3 WITH NEEDLE AND LEAF CUTICLES WILL BE CHARACTERIZED. FOR THAT PURPOSE, CUTICLES FROM PICEA, PINUS, ABIES, FAGUS AND QUERCUS WILL BE ISOLATED ENZYMATICALLY.

SORPTION AND PERMEABILITY OF THE AGSES WILL BE DETERMINED IN THE ISOLATED CUTICLES. SORPTION AND PERMEABILITY DATA WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE, TO CORRELATE INTRACUTICULAR GAS CONCENTRATIONS AND MORPHOLOGICAL, ANATOMICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES OF CUTICLES INDUCED BY AIR POLLUTANTS. FURTHERMORE, PERMEABILITY IS A MEASURE OF GAS TRANSPORT BETWEEN ATMOSPHERE AND PLANT INTERIOR VIA CUTICLE. SORPTION WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY PARTITION COEFFICIENTS AND SORPTION ISOTHERMS, PERMEABILITY BY PERMEABILITY COEFFICIENTS.

Wissenschaftliches Gebiet

Programm/Programme

FP1-ENVPROT 4C - Multiannual research and development programmes (EEC) in the field of the environment - Protection of the environment -, 1986-1990

Thema/Themen

Data not available

Aufforderung zur Vorschlagseinreichung

Data not available

Finanzierungsplan

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Koordinator

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH

EU-Beitrag

Keine Daten

Adresse

21,Alte Akademie 16
85350 FREISING
Deutschland

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