Journal Article

·2015 OPEN ACCESS

The Cross-section Variations in Red Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) Needles as an Indicator of Atmospheric Pollution: Gökova Thermal Power Plants

Yaşar Nuhoğlu YTU , Yılmaz Yildirim , Murat Dündar

Eurasian Journal of Forest Science

Abstract

In this study, the anatomical and morphological anomalies on the cross-section of calabrian pine needles ( Pinus brutia Ten.) caused by air pollutants emitted from the Kemerköy (Gökova) Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) were investigated with fieldworks and microscopic techniques. At the end of the land researches, it was found out that air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and fly ash had caused serious injury, so that 3 year-old-needles fell very early. On the microscopic observation on the cross-sections of the needles, it was determined that the diameter of the main and especially subordinate resin canal dilated too and the number of resin canals increased. It was also observed that the endodermis layer in transmission corymbs and the cells in transfusion texture had become thin, and the intra-cellular material had disappeared owing to air pollutants.

Keywords

Pinus brutia Pollutant Air pollutants Pinus <genus> Air pollution Sulfur dioxide Environmental science Botany Environmental chemistry Chemistry Biology

Subject Areas

Fire effects on ecosystems ·Global and Planetary Change ·Physical Sciences
Forest ecology and management ·Nature and Landscape Conservation ·Physical Sciences
Forest Insect Ecology and Management ·Ecology ·Physical Sciences