Growth of ponderosa pine seedlings as affected by air pollution

The effect of air pollution on seedling survival and competitive ability is important to natural and artificial regeneration of forest trees. Although biochemical and physiological processes are sensitive indicators of pollution stress, the cumulative effects of air pollutants on seedling vigor and competitive ability may be assessed directly from whole-plant growth characteristics such as diameter, height, and photosynthetic area. A few studies that have examined intraspecific variation in seedling response to air pollution indicate that genotypic differences are important in assessing potential effects of air pollution on forest regeneration. Here, we studied the effects of acid rain (no-rain, pH 5.1 rain, pH 3.0 rain) and ozone (filtered, ambient, twice-ambient) in the field on height, diameter, volume, the height:diameter ratio, maximum needle length, and time to reach maximum needle length in seedlings of three families of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws). Seedling diameter, height, volume, and height:diameter ratio related significantly to their pre-treatment values. Twice-ambient ozone decreased seedling diameter compared with ozone-filtered air. A significant family-by-ozone interaction was detected for seedling height, as the height of only one of the three families was decreased by twice-ambient ozone compared with the ambient level. Seedling diameter was larger and the height:diameter ratio was smaller under pH 3.0 rain compared to either the no-rain or the pH 5.1-rain treatment. This suggests greater seedling vigor, perhaps due to a foliar fertilization effect of the pH 3.0 rain.