Treesearch

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) has been measured in pure pine and mixed pine forests on 15 sites in two transects in Poland: the "climatic" (from the western to the eastern border), and the "Silesian" (from the most to the less polluted part of the country). PAR was measured by using the standard procedure developed by the USDA Forest Service's Forest Health Monitoring Program. At each forest site PAR was measured at the "central point" and at six points 7.3 m from the central point. PAR was also measured at three additional points (at the location of litterfall collection)....

The lithological and petrographical characteristics of soil pedogenesis was determined, and the spatial and vertical distribution of some soil physico-chemical properties (including heavy metal content) were studied along two transects in Poland. The genetic horizon for 22 soil profiles were described for particle size and petrographic composition, quartz grain abrasion, transformation of organic substance, carbon and nitrogen characteristics, base saturation, exchangeable cations, and acidity. The results showed that the morphogenesis of parent rock in all studied profiles is characterized...

The impact of environmental pollution is defined for the chemical composition of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) needles and cambial activity in the tree stems in Polish forests. The research investigated 20-year-old trees growing in two areas in significantly different levels of pollution. The highly polluted area was located near the Warsaw steelworks, while the area with relatively low level of pollution (control area) was in the Kampinos National Park, 10.5 km away from the steelworks. The research revealed significant differences in chemical composition of needles between the two...

Five species of western conifers (Pinus ponderosa, Abies concolor, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Abies lasiocarpa, and Picea engelmannii) were exposed, in two standard open-top exposure chambers per treatment, to charcoal-filtered air and a simulated diurnal ozone exposure profile (120 d sum of 136 ppm-h) to test their relative sensitivity. CO2 exchange rate (CER), stomatal conductance (gs), and total leaf nitrogen of current year foliage were measured at 1-month intervals. P. ponderosa was the most adversely affected by ozone, based on reductions in mid- and late season CER under saturating...

Ectomycorrhizae of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees grown in forests influenced by different levels of air pollutants were investigated. Total numbers of mycorrhizal root tips in the soil horizons and the frequency of mycorrhizal morphotypes were compared as indicators of ectomycorrhizal status. The studies were conducted in two comparable young pine plantations in western Poland and in two mature forest ecosystems in southern Poland differing in pollution level. Soil at the polluted young pine plantation (Lubon) had lower pH and increased availability of aluminum ions than the...

Current-year needles from mature ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws.) were sampled at four sites across the air pollution gradient in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California. The sites, in order of decreasing air pollution exposure, included: Sky Forest (SF), Conference Center (CC), Camp Angelus (CA) and Heart Bar (HB). Needle nutrients measured were: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al). Concentrations of N in foliage (12.5 g/kg) were significantly higher at SF, the site...

The influences of a geographical location on floristic composition, horizontal structure, and biomass of the herb layer in pine and mixed pine forest communities along climatic and pollution gradients in East Germany, Poland, and Belarus were determined. Phytosociological records were collected in permanent plots in May 1995. Each record covered an area of 400 m2. The floristic composition of the study area provided the basis for the determination of the phytosociological differentiation of the plots along the transect. Similarity index between plots was calculated by using the Czekanowski...

The influence of climatic and pollution gradients was determined on species richness, species diversity, and values of phytoindicators of the herb layer in pine and mixed pine forest communities in Poland. Geographical longitude was used as a synthetic measure of geographical position. Ellenberg's indices were used as synthetic measures of habitat differentiation, calculated as weighed averages: L (light index), T (temperature index), K (continentality index), F (moisture index), R (reaction index), N (nitrogen index). Richness and diversity variables were used: razem (total number of...

Ambient ozone was monitored from 1992 to 1994 near a forested site dominated by mature Jeffrey and ponderosa pines (Pinus jeffrey Grev. & Balf. and Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) at 2,000 m in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. Ozone injury symptoms, including percent chlorotic mottle and foliage retention, were evaluated on 130 mature pines in September of 1991 to 1994 at a site 2 km from the ozone monitor. Symptom measurements were combined in an ozone injury index (OII) that represented the average crown condition of each plot. Leaf stomatal conductance and available...

The Niepolomice Forest is located near the city of Krakow in southern Poland. Since the erection of large iron works in the 1950's, the forest has suffered from heavy pollution with SO2 and industrial dusts containing heavy metals. During the past 10 years, the ecology of the Niepolomice Forest has been intensively studied and the impact of industrial pollution has been significantly reduced. With the advent of modern computer intensive techniques, data gathered in the past have been reanalyzed with respect to the spatial and temporal variations of the forest ecosystem response to industria...