• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.90 no.3
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• pp.306-313
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• 2001

The objectives of this study were to understand the physiological responses and resistance of red pine trees to ozone exposure in relation to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization. Potted one-year-old seedlings of Pinus densiflora S. et Z. were exposed in an open-top chamber(OTC) to ozone at concentration of 0.12ppm for 3 hours daily for eight weeks with or without N and P fertilization alone or in combination. The OTC had dimensions of 2.0m in height and 2.5m in diameter, and the air in a control chamber was filtered with activated charcoal to maintain the ozone concentration below 0.02ppm. After eight weeks of ozone exposure, none of the seedlings showed any symptoms of visible injury on leaves. The seedlings fertilized with N and P in a control chamber showed 22 to 95% increase in total dry weight, and similar fertilizer effect was also noticed in an ozone chamber. Ozone treatment did not decrease the total dry weight, but increased shoot/root ratio by 14.5%. Ozone treatment increased sucrose content in the leaves by 23%, but decreased sucrose content in roots by 20% regardless of N or P application. Starch content in the leaves was not affected by either ozone or fertilizer. However, starch content in the roots was decreased by 41% by ozone treatment. Chlorophyll content in the leaves was increased by 70% by N application, but was not affected by ozone treatment. Nitrogen and P fertilization stimulated net photosynthesis by 80% in a control chamber, but stimulatory effect of N and P on net photosynthesis was 22.3% less in an ozone chamber. Net photosynthesis of the seedlings with no fertilization was not affected by ozone treatment. Based on the observed interactions between N, P, and ozone, it was concluded that the stimulatory effect of fertilization on growth of Pinus densiflora would be decreased by ozone treatment, but fertilization would increase resistance to ozone by re-allocation of increased carbohydrates.