Carbon fixation efficiency of plants influenced by sulfur dioxide

Abstract

In the land ecosystem, the forest can absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and turn the CO2 into organic carbon to store it in the plant body. About 2×10(11) tons of CO2 changes through photosynthesis into organic matter by plant annually. In this research, ten kinds of woody plants were selected for assessing the carbon fixation ability influenced by sulfur dioxide (SO2). The tested trees were put into a fumigation chamber for 210 days in a 40-ppb SO2 environment. The results of this study showed that there was no clear symptom of tested trees under a 40-ppb SO2 environment. The tested trees could tolerate this polluted environment, but it will impact their CO2 absorption ability. The carbon fixation ability will reduce as the polluted period lengthens. The carbon fixation potential of tested trees ranged from 2.1 to 15.5 g·CO2/m2·d with an average of 7.7 g·CO2/m2·d. The changes in CO2 absorption volume for Messerschmidia argentea were more stable during the fumigation period with a variation of 102%. Among the tested trees, Diospyros morrisiana had the best carbon fixation potential of 9.19 g·CO2/m2·d and M. argentea had the least with 2.54 g·CO2/m2·d.

Phylloremediation of Air Pollutants: Exploiting the Potential of Plant Leaves and Leaf-Associated Microbes

“…Elevated SO 2 concentrations around natural CO 2 springs have been documented to enhance accumulation of sulfur metabolites and proteins in surrounding vegetation (Rennenberg, 1984 ). Therefore, plants can be selected for growing in SO 2 polluted environments (Chung et al, 2010 ). In 2000, about 42.62 Mg of SO 2 was removed from the atmosphere by urban trees in Guangzhou, China (Zhang et al, 2013 ).…”

New Trends in Bioremediation Technologies Toward Environment-Friendly Society: A Mini-Review

“…Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RuBisCO) is a primary enzyme that catalyzes CO 2 fixation in photosynthetic plants (Hatch and Slack, 1970 ). As plants hold great potential to reduce air pollution (Chung et al, 2011 ), redesigning RuBisCO could be an ideal target for ecology and environmental protection. The structure of RuBisCO varies with the plant species, and some RuBisCO variants are also available in the PDB database.…”

Impact of Volcanic Sulfur Emissions on the Pine Forest of La Palma, Spain

“…SO 2 uptake can hinder the ability of plants to close their stomata, leading to water loss [19]. SO 2 also hinders other plant processes, such as respiration, enzyme activity, and protein synthesis [18], affecting the uptake of CO 2 during photosynthesis [20]. Overall, high SO 2 concentrations can lead to both acute injury of plant parts and chronic injuries, such as chlorosis [19].…”