Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2025, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (11): 1919-1933.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0352  cstr: 32100.14.cjpe.2024.0352

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of elevated ozone concentration and nitrogen addition on the photosynthetic characteristics of poplar at different leaf positions and growth stages

TIAN Tong-Tong1, SHANG Bo1,2,*(), XU Yan-Sen1,2, YUAN Xiang-Yang1,2, LIU Shuo3, FENG Zhao-Zhong1,2   

  1. 1Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Carbon Source and Sink, China Meteorological Administration (ECSS-CMA), School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
    2Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters(CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
    3Zhejiang Carbon Neutral Innovation Institute, Zhejiang International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology on Carbon Emission Reduction and Monitoring, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
  • Received:2024-10-10 Accepted:2025-01-10 Online:2025-11-20 Published:2025-11-20
  • Contact: SHANG Bo
  • Supported by:
    National Key R&D Program of China(2023YFC3709403);Special Technology Innovation Fund of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality in Jiangsu Province(BK20220020)

Abstract:

Aims The combined effects of ozone (O3) pollution and nitrogen (N) addition on plant photosynthesis are still controversial, which may be related to factors such as measurement period, time, and leaf position. This study mainly explored the differences in the response of photosynthetic parameters of poplar to O3 and N addition at different growth stages, diurnal variation, and leaf positions, in order to comprehensively understand the combined effects of O3 pollution and N addition on plant carbon sequestration.

Methods The cuttings of hybrid poplar clone 107 (Populus euramericana cv. ‘74/76’) were exposed to six open top chambers. Two O3 concentration treatments were set up (NF, non-filtered ambient air; NF45, NF + 45 nmol·mol-1 O3), with four N addition treatments nested under each O3 treatment (N0, no N added; N50, N0 + 50 kg N·hm-2·a-1; N100, N0 + 100 kg N·hm-2·a-1; N200, N0 + 200 kg N·hm-2·a-1). The photosynthetic parameters of poplar at different growth stages, daily times, and leaf positions were measured.

Important findings When averaged across four N treatments, NF45 treatment significantly reduced the entire growth season photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), and chlorophyll content (SPAD) by 44.2%, 18.2%, and 24.7% compared with NF treatment, respectively. However, O3 increased the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) by 9.0%, indicating that the reduction of Pn by O3 was mainly limited by non-stomatal factors. The results showed that NF45 treatment had a greater reduction in leaf Pn and SPAD at the middle and late stages of growth than at the early stages. The response of Pn and SPAD to O3 varied among different leaf positions. O3 significantly reduced Pn and SPAD at the lower leaf position, while O3 increased Pn and SPAD at the topmost leaf position, indicating a compensatory effect of plants in response to O3 stress. O3 caused varying degrees of decrease in Pn of poplar at different times within a day, but there was no statistically significant interaction between O3 and time on the photosynthetic parameters. The N addition significantly increased the leaf Pn and SPAD of poplar throughout the entire growing season, with no significant effect on gs, but significantly reduced Ci. There was no significant difference in the promotion of photosynthesis by N addition at different growth stages and leaf positions. In addition, no significant interaction effect was observed between O3 and N addition on all photosynthetic parameters, indicating that N addition did not alleviate the negative impact of O3 on poplar photosynthesis.

Key words: ozone, nitrogen addition, growth period, diurnal dynamics, leaf position, poplar