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The use of Leaf Characteristics of Common Oak (Quercus Robur L.) to Monitor Ambient Ammonia Concentrations

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Abstract

Biomonitoring of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) concentrations is generally performed with epiphytic lichens, using species’ abundances and/or nitrogen concentration as monitoring tools. However, the potential of leaf characteristics of trees to monitor the atmospheric NH3 concentration has remained largely unexplored. Therefore, we performed a passive biomonitoring study with common oak (Quercus robur L.) at 34 sampling locations in the near vicinity of livestock farms, located in Flanders (northern Belgium). We aimed at evaluating the potential of specific leaf area, leaf area fluctuating asymmetry, stomatal resistance, and chlorophyll content of common oak to monitor a broad range of NH3 concentrations (four-monthly average of 1.9–29.9 μg m−3). No significant effects of ambient NH3 concentration on the abovementioned leaf characteristics were revealed. Probably, differences in climate, soil characteristics, and concentrations of other air pollutants and/or genotypes confounded the influence of NH3. Consequently, this study demonstrates the inability of using these morphological, anatomical, and physiological common oak leaf characteristics to monitor ambient NH3 concentration.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank VMM and Natuurpunt, specifically Dries Van Den Broeck, for helping us with the field work preparation and for providing us the requested data. In addition, many thanks are due to Jeroen Wyffels and Ali Reza Khavanin zadeh for the assistance in the field work and Lander Baeten for the statistical help. The first author is granted a Ph.D. grant of the Agency for Innovation through Science and Technology (IWT-Vlaanderen). The fourth author is granted a Ph.D. fellowship of the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO). The third and fifth authors are funded as postdoctoral fellow of the Special Research Fund of Ghent University and FWO, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    Tatiana Wuytack, Karen Wuyts & Roeland Samson

  2. Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Gontrode (Melle), Belgium

    Kris Verheyen, Karen Wuyts, Sandy Adriaenssens & Jeroen Staelens

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  1. Tatiana Wuytack
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  2. Kris Verheyen
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  6. Roeland Samson
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Correspondence to Tatiana Wuytack.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 2 Mean NH3 concentration (April until July 2008), specific leaf area (SLA), fluctuating asymmetry (FA), relative chlorophyll content (RCC) and stomatal resistance (R S) for each sampling area, with one or more sampling locations in each area
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Wuytack, T., Verheyen, K., Wuyts, K. et al. The use of Leaf Characteristics of Common Oak (Quercus Robur L.) to Monitor Ambient Ammonia Concentrations. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1356 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1356-5

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