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Effects of Hg stress on the physio-ecological characteristics of Cinnamomum camphora seedlings under simulated acid rain.

LIU Xing-yu, WANG Yan-hong*, XU Yi-ran   

  1. (The Nurturing Station for State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Cycling in Forest Ecosystems and Carbon Sequestration, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China).
  • Online:2017-03-10 Published:2017-03-10

Abstract: In this study, Cinnamomum camphora, one of typical trees in Zhejiang Province, was chosen to explore the response patterns of physio-ecological properties of plants under simulated acid deposition (pH 4.0 and 5.6) and Hg stress (0, 0.5 and 10 mg·kg-1) in greenhouse experiment. The results showed that acid deposition and Hg stress significantly increased the ratio of chlorophyll b and chlorophyll a. Under low pH, the higher Hg treatment (10 mg·kg-1) significantly increased the fresh weight of leaf compared with low Hg treatment (0.5 mg·kg-1), while under high pH, Hg treatments had no such effects. Meanwhile, acid deposition and Hg stress had no interactive effects on total dry biomass, but significantly decreased the root/shoot ratio. With the expansion of treatment duration, the height, basal diameter and leaf number increased, but they increased more slowly under higher Hg treatment. Also, for the three traits, the differences between the treatment groups were minor in the early period but significant in the later period. Obviously, the effects of Hg treatment were not only affected by acid deposition but also by treatment duration. Although acid deposition and Hg stress incurred some damages to the growth of the plants, they did not pose negative impacts on the fitness. It is suggested that the C. camphora seedlings could adapt to the alteration of environment and could be treated as a species in ecological restoration.