Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lawson, T.
Right arrow Articles by Weyers, J. D.B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lawson, T.
Right arrow Articles by Weyers, J. D.B.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lawson, T.
Right arrow Articles by Weyers, J. D.B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 53, No. 369, pp. 737-746, April 1, 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

Original Papers

Impact of elevated CO2 and O3 on gas exchange parameters and epidermal characteristics in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Tracy Lawson1,4, Jim Craigon1, Colin R. Black1, Jeremy J. Colls2, Geoff Landon1 and Jonathan D.B. Weyers3

1 School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
2 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
3 School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK

Potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bintje) were grown in open-top chambers (OTCs) under three CO2 levels (ambient and 24 h d-1 seasonal mean concentrations of 550 and 680 µmol mol-1) and two O3 levels (ambient and a seasonal mean 8 h d-1 concentration of 50 nmol mol-1). The objectives were to determine the effects of season-long exposure to these key climate change gases on gas exchange, leaf thickness and epidermal characteristics. The experimental design also provided an ideal opportunity to examine within-leaf variation in epidermal characteristics at the whole-leaf level. Stomatal and epidermal cell density and stomatal index were measured at specific locations on the youngest fully expanded leaf (centre of lamina, mid-way between tip and base) and representative whole leaves from each treatment. Effects on leaf conductance, assimilation rate and instantaneous transpiration efficiency were determined by infrared gas analysis, while anatomical characteristics were examined using a combination of leaf impressions and thin sections. Exposure to elevated CO2 or O3 generally increased leaf thickness, leaf area, stomatal density, and assimilation rate, but reduced leaf conductance. The irregular stomatal distribution within leaves resulted from a combination of uneven differentiation and expansion of the epidermal cells. The results are discussed with reference to sampling protocols and the need to account for within-leaf variation when examining the impact of climate change or other environmental factors on epidermal characteristics.

Key words: CO2, epidermal cell density, leaf conductance, O3, open-top chambers, potato, Solanum tuberosum, stomatal density, stomatal index.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.