Studies to assess the effects of ozone on native vegetation of Acadia National Park: 1991 annual report

Eckert R, Kohut R, Laurence J, King P, Lee T, Rock B, Moss D, Theisen A. 1992. Studies to assess the effects of ozone on native vegetation of Acadia National Park: 1991 annual report. University of New Hampshire; Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research. University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

From the abstract: "During the summer of 1991, several species of plants native to Acadia National Park were exposed to controlled levels of ozone in open-top chambers at the established site in the park. The chambers allowed plants to be exposed to levels of ozone equal to one-half ambient, ambient, and 1.5 and 2.0 times ambient. This range of concentrations represents levels of ozone associated with air that is both cleaner and more polluted than that occurring in the park at the present time. The following species of plants studied were collected from Acadia as seed or seedlings: striped maple, red maple, northern red oak, red spruce, northern white cedar, spreading dogbane, wild sarsaparilla, big-leaf aster, Canada blue-joint grass, jewelweed, small sundrops, wild radish, and Canada mayflower. Eastern white pine was from a Maine source, purchased as two-year old seedlings from a commercial Maine nursery, and black cherry was collected as seed in Durham, NH. Responses to the ozone treatments were evaluated by assessing foliar injury, rates of net photosynthesis, reflectance, and fluorescence emission." Species sensitive to ozone included big-leaf aster, black cherry, spreading dogbane, small sundrops. Species not affected by the ozone treatments included: northern red oak, red spruce, eastern white pine, northern white cedar, wild sarsaparilla, canada blue-joint grass, wild radish, and canada mayflower. Results also indicate that exposure to ozone significantly reduced photosynthesis in black cherry and big-leaf aster. /STUDY LOCATIONS:/ /ACADIA NATIONAL PARK/

Type
Published Report
Authors
Eckert, Robert; Kohut, Robert; Laurence, John; King, Paul; Lee, Thomas; Rock, Barrett; Moss, David; Theisen, Arnold
Date of Issue
1992-07
Publisher
University of New Hampshire; Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
Units
ACAD
Keywords
Acadia National Park, Air Quality, Foliar Damage, Ozone (O3), Vegetation

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