Responses of herbaceous and woody plants to the dry deposition of SO2 and NO2.

Abstract

It has been possible to produce a good dose-response curve for Poa pratensis exposed to mixtures of SO2 and NO2 for periods of up to 50 days. Good progress has also been made towards establishing a dose-response relationship for Betula pendula. In both cases, low concentrations appear to stimulate growth, but growth is dramatically inhibited as concentrations increase. The dry deposition of SO2 and NO2 from the concentrations present in rural air in industrialized countries is likely to produce growth stimulation in some circumstances, inhibition in others. Initial growth stimulations may have long-term deleterious effects; they could, for example, increase sensitivity to frost. -from Authors