Effects of Inert Dust on Olive Leaf Short Original Communications

Short Original Communications (Subject Area 1: Terrestrial Ecology and Biology)

Effects of Inert Dust on Olive (Olea europaea L.) Leaf Physiological Parameters*
George D. Nanos1** and Ilias F. Ilias2
1 School of Agricultural Science, University of Thessaly, Fitoko Str, 38446 Volos, Greece
2 Department of Crop Production, Technological Educational Institute, PO Box 141, 54100 Thessaloniki, Greece

** Corresponding author ([email protected])

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.08.327
a review by Farmer (1993), cement dust blocked stomata,
inhibited pollen germination and reduced photosynthetic
Please cite this paper as: Nanos GD, Ilias IF (2007): Effects or transpiration rate in a number of annual crops. More
of Inert Dust on Olive (Olea europeaea L.) Leaf Physiological recent work showed that cement dust decreased the pro-
Parameters. Env Sci Pollut Res 14 (3) 212–214
ductivity and concentration of chlorophyll in a number of
annual non-leguminous crops (Liu et al. 1997, Pandey and
Abstract
Kumar 1996, Saralabai and Vivekanandan 1997, Satao et
Background. Cement factories are major pollutants for the surround- al. 1993). Also, in recent years, many effects of cement dust
ing areas. Inert dust deposition has been found to affect photosyn-
have been studied on conifers growing in central European
thesis, stomatal functioning and productivity. Very few studies have
been conducted on the effects of cement kiln dust on the physiology forests (Lepedus et al. 2003, Mandre and Ots 1999, Mandre
of perennial fruit crops. Our goal was to study some cement dust and Tuulmets 1997).
effects on olive leaf physiology.
On cultivated evergreen trees (where leaves remain active
Methods. Cement kiln dust has been applied periodically since April
2003 onto olive leaves. Cement dust accumulation and various leaf for more than a year), cement dust was found to reduce
physiological parameters were evaluated early in July 2003. Mea- productivity or change the inorganic leaf content (Farmer
surements were also taken on olive trees close to the cement factory. 1993). No studies were found on the effects of cement dust
Results. Leaf dry matter content and specific leaf weight increased to leaf physiological characteristics of those trees. In the
with leaf age and dust content. Cement dust decreased leaf total region of Volos, central Greece, olives are extensively culti-
chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio. As a re- vated close to a cement factory, mainly for the production
sult, photosynthetic rate and quantum yield decreased. In addition,
of table olives. The present research is aimed at investigat-
transpiration rate slightly decreased, stomatal conductance to H2O
and CO2 movement decreased, internal CO2 concentration remained ing the effect of cement dust on leaf physiological param-
constant and leaf temperature increased. eters, as a way to better understand the mechanisms affect-
Discussion. The changes in chlorophyll are possibly due to shading ing productivity.
and/or photosystem damage. The changes in stomatal functioning
were possibly due to dust accumulation between the peltates or other
effects on stomata. 1 Material and Methods
Conclusions. Dust (in this case from a cement kiln) seems to cause 1.1 Plant experimental material
substantial changes to leaf physiology, possibly leading to reduced
olive productivity. Experimental, 5–8-year-old branches (branch diameter 30–
Recommendations. Avoidance of air contamination from cement 50 mm) were selected randomly to all directions from ten
factories by using available technology should be examined together well-pruned 30-year-old olive trees (Olea europaea L. cv.
with any possible methodologies to reduce plant tissue contamina- Konservolea) situated in a drip irrigated grove 10 km away
tion from cement dust. from the cement factory or any other dust source in the re-
Perspectives. Longterm effects of dust (from cement kiln or other gion of Volos, Central Greece. On April 25, 2003 (initiation
sources) on olive leaf, plant productivity and nutritional quality of
edible parts could be studied for conclusive results on dust contami-
of new shoot growth), cement kiln dust (collected from the
nation effects to perennial crops. local cement kiln) was applied on both surfaces of slightly
humid leaves in 12 branches, used as replications. Twelve
Keywords: Cement kiln dust; olive (Olea europaea L.) leaf; photo- similar branches were used as controls. Dust application was
synthetic rate; quantum yield; transpiration repeated on May 14 and 23, and on June 4 and 27.

1.2 Leaf physiological parameter measurements

Introduction
On July 9, measurements of photosynthetic rate were per-
The main atmospheric pollutants are: gaseous - mainly SO2, formed (08:00–11:00) with a portable CID photosynthesis
NOx, O3, heavy metals and dust, which often includes heavy unit (CI-301Ps, CID Inc., Vancouver) in leaves of 3 different
metals. Increased concentrations of the above pollutants ages (up to 2-months-old, 1-year-old next to fruit and 2-
cause progressive reduction in the photosynthetic ability of year-old). In total, 12 leaves per leaf age and treatment were
leaves, closure of leaf stomata and, mainly, a reduction in
growth and productivity of plants (Larcher 1995). Based on *ESS-Submission Editor: Prof. Dr. Stefan Trapp ([email protected])

212 Env Sci Pollut Res 14 (3) 212 – 214 (2007)

© 2007 ecomed publishers (Verlagsgruppe Hüthig Jehle Rehm GmbH), D-86899 Landsberg and Tokyo • Mumbai • Seoul • Melbourne • Paris
Short Original Communications Effects of Inert Dust on Olive Leaf

measured. Using the GASEX program and the measured Older leaves with cement dust had increased dry matter and
parameters, the following parameters were calculated: tran- specific leaf weight compared to the corresponding leaves
spiration, leaf temperature, leaf conductance to H2O and without cement dust, probably because of the presence of
CO2 movement, quantum yield, water use efficiency and in- some dust following its removal with a brush.
ternal CO2 to external CO2 concentration ratio (Hall et al.
1993). Five additional leaves from each age and each branch- The application of cement dust on olive leaves decreased
replication were collected and placed in plastic bags in a por- chlorophyll a and increased chlorophyll b content, decreased
table refrigerator. For these leaves, the leaf surface, dust load, chlorophyll a/ chlorophyll b ratio and slightly decreased to-
chlorophyll content (Wintermans and Mots 1965), leaf dry tal chlorophyll content (see Table 1). These changes in the
mass and specific leaf weight were measured or calculated. two types of chlorophyll can be attributed to the shading
Dust quantity was estimated by brushing the leaf surfaces, caused by the dust on the leaf or damage to the photosyn-
collecting the dust and weighting it with a precision scale. For thetic apparatus due to toxicity or increased water stress.
leaf dry matter content, 5 discs were cut (1 per leaf of each Reduction of total chlorophyll, but also chlorophylls a and
replication) with a 9 mm diameter borer, then placed in pre- b, has been found in leaves of various annual plants and
weighed Petri dish, measured fresh mass and, after keeping conifers covered by cement dust (Mandre and Tuulmets
them at 80°C for 48 h, measured dry mass. Percent leaf dry 1997, Pandey and Kumar 1996). On the contrary, even
matter and specific leaf weight were calculated. though leaves from the 'contaminated' groves had low leaf
dry matter and similar specific leaf weight compared to our
In addition, on July 28, measurements on dust quantity and experimental site's cement dusted leaves, their chlorophyll
leaf physiology were conducted (as described above) in two content was similar to the non-dusted leaves in our experi-
drip irrigated olive farms situated around 300–500 m away mental site, indicating a possible effect of other factors like
from the cement factory ('contaminated' groves) to com- crop load, fertilization and irrigation techniques on chloro-
pare them with the experimental site's results. phyll content (data not shown). Crop load was similar in
the two sites, irrigation covered around 50% of the plant
1.3 Statistical analysis ETo needs in both sites and fertilization in the experimental
site was optimal based on leaf tissue analysis. There is an-
Analysis of variance was conducted using one (dust pres-
other possibility that olive leaves have the capacity to adapt
ence) or two factors (dust presence and leaf age) and SPSS
statistical package (SPSS 12.0, Chicago, USA). Duncan's to cement dust deposition when contamination is present
mean separation was also used to separate means. over a long period, which merits attention.
Leaves of three ages in each treatment did not differ in the
2 Results and Discussion rate of photosynthesis, transpiration and other physiologi-
cal parameters. Thus, these leaves were used as replications
2.1 Dust deposition in each treatment. The application of dust on olive leaves
The quantity of cement dust applied on olive leaves of the decreased photosynthetic rate by 23% and quantum yield
experimental olive grove was, as expected, many fold higher by 31% compared to the control (Table 2). The latter may
than the quantity of dust found on control leaves and, par- not be completely correct as part of solar radiation may not
ticularly, in older leaves (Table 1). At 'contaminated' olive reach chloroplasts due to increased reflectance (Nunes et al.
groves up to 500 m away from the cement factory, even 2004). Cement dust also caused a slight decrease in transpi-
larger quantities of cement dust were found on leaves, as ration rate and significant decrease in leaf conductance to
well as an increase of dust quantity with leaf age (3-month- H2O and CO2 movement via the stomata (by 22 and 18%,
old leaves 0.239; 1-year-old leaves 0.526; 2-year-old leaves respectively). These changes resulted in a small increase of
0.994 mg/cm2). leaf temperature and reduction of water use efficiency by
27%, without changing intercellular CO2 concentration (see
Table 2). In the 'contaminated' groves, photosynthetic and
2.2 Leaf physiological characteristics
transpiration rates and leaf conductance were found to be
Leaf dry matter and specific leaf weight increased with leaf similar to or even lower than the cement dust treated leaves
age (see Table 1) as found before (Proietti and Famiani 2002). in the experimental site (data not shown). The values of leaf

Table 1: The effect of cement dust application on dust quantity, leaf dry matter, specific leaf weight, total chlorophyll a and b, and chlorophyll a/b ratio of
three leaf ages (1, up to 2-months-old; 2, one-year-old next to fruit; 3, two-year-old). Means followed by different letters differ significantly

Treatment Leaf age Cement dust Leaf dry matter Specific leaf Chlorophyll a Chlorophyll b Total chlorophyll Chlor
(mg/cm2) (%) weight (g/m2) (mg/g DM) (mg/g DM) (mg/g DM) a/b ratio
Control 1 0.04c 59.2c 190c 1.48a 0.97c 2.45ab 1.52a
2 0.02c 62.4b 218b 1.52a 1.15b 2.70a 1.32b
3 0.05c 62.7b 224b 1.42a 0.88c 2.30bc 1.61a
Dust 1 0.17b 60.8bc 196c 0.92b 1.49a 2.41b 0.61c
2 0.27a 65.2ab 224b 0.92b 1.41a 2.28bc 0.65c
3 0.29a 66.2a 250a 0.71b 1.23ab 1.95c 0.57c

Env Sci Pollut Res 14 (3) 2007 213

Effects of Inert Dust on Olive Leaf Short Original Communications

Table 2: The effect of cement dust on photosynthetic rate, quantum yield, transpiration rate, water use efficiency, leaf temperature, leaf conductance to
H2O, leaf conductance to CO2 and CO2 in/CO2 out ratio of olive leaves

Parameters Units Control Dust Difference

Photosynthesis mmol/m2·s 14.1 10.9 *a
Quantum yield mol CO2 /100 photons 0.71 0.49 *
2
Transpiration mmol/m ·s 7.1 6.8 NS
Water use efficiency Mmol CO2 /molH2O 2.26 1.78 *
o
Leaf temperature C 31.6 32.1 *
2
Leaf conductance H2O mmol/m ·s 262 209 *
Leaf conductance CO2 mmol/m2·s 167 142 *
CO2 in/CO2 out – 0.93 0.93 NS
a
NS
* Non-significant or significant at P = 0.05, respectively

physiological parameters reported herein agree in general Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank Ms Zografou
with previously published work for olive trees (Bongi et al. Maria for her help during field measurements.
1987, Gucci et al. 1999, Proietti and Famiani 2002). Some
differences with previous data are mainly due to non-irri-
References
gated olive trees or cultivars used in other studies.
Angelopoulos K, Dichio B, Xiloyannis C (1996): Inhibition of photosynthe-
sis in olive trees (Olea europaea L.) during water stress and rewatering.
3 Discussion J Exp Bot 47, 1093–1100
Bongi G, Mencuccini M, Fontanazza G (1987): Photosynthesis of olive leaves:
The application of cement dust on olive leaves caused changes effect of light flux density, leaf age, temperature, peltates, and water vapour
pressure deficit on gas exchange. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 112, 143–148
in the chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio similar to leaves of Farmer AM (1993): The effects of dust on vegetation – A review. Environ
plants developed in the shade. This reduction of light quan- Pollut 79, 63–75
tity (due to increased reflectance, see Nunes et al. 2004) and/ Gucci R, Massai R, Casano S, Costagli G (1999): The effect of leaf age on
CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance of field-grown olive trees.
or quality reaching chloroplasts possibly caused the reduc- Acta Hort 474, 289–292
tion of photosynthetic rate and quantum yield. Other pub- Hall DO, Scurlock JMO, Bolhar-Nordenkampf HR, Leegood RC, Long SP
lished research has shown that photosystem damage may be (1993): Photosynthesis and Production in a changing environment: A
field and laboratory manual. Chapman and Hall, London, UK
the cause of many changes in leaf physiological parameters Larcher W (1995): Physiological plant ecology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin,
observed in our study (Angelopoulos et al. 1996, Proietti Germany
and Famiani 2002). In our case, photosystem damage may Liu JL, Du M, Shang KY, Chen SY, Xu HB, Xie MY (1997): The effects of
cement dust pollution on rice, rape and soil. J Plant Resources Environ
have occurred due to heavy metal toxicity, often associated 6, 42–47
with cement dust contamination in previous reports (Farmer Lepedus H, Cesar V, Suver M (2003): The annual changes or chloroplast
1993). In addition, the presence of dust between the peltates pigments content in current- and previous-year needles or Norway spruce
on the lower leaf surface must have caused – among other (Picea abies L. Karst.) exposed to cement dust pollution. Acta Botanica
Croatica 62, 27–35
possible effects – a decrease in leaf conductance to water Mandre M, Tuulmets L (1997): Pigment changes in Norway spruce induced
vapor and CO2 movement, although without significantly by dust pollution. Water Air Soil Pollut 91, 247–258
affecting transpiration. Mandre M, Ots K (1999): Growth and biomass partitioning of 6-year-old
spruces under alkaline dust impact. Water Air Soil Pollut 114, 13–25
Nunes A, Brugnoli E, Maguas C, Correia O (2004): Effect of dust deposi-
tion on foliar absorbance of Mediterranean species. Rev Biologia Lisboa
4 Conclusions 22, 143–151
Pandey DD, Kumar S (1996): Impact of cement dust pollution on biomass,
The olive leaf physiological work reported herein concludes chlorophyll, nutrients and grain characteristics of wheat. Environ Ecol
that shortterm exposure to dust (from a cement kiln) caused 14, 872–875
important changes to leaf physiology, which could affect olive Proietti P, Famiani F (2002): Diurnal and seasonal changes in photosyn-
thetic characteristics in different olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars.
tree productivity (see also Zanichelli et al. 2006). Photosynthetica 40, 171–176
Saralabai VC, Vivekanandan M (1997): Effect of electrostatic precipitator
dust (EPS) on pollen fertility and crop productivity. Rev Brasileira
5 Recommendations and Perspectives Fisiologia Vegetal 9, 67–69
Satao RN, Kene HK, Nalamwar RV, Ulemale RB (1993): Effect of cement
Avoidance of air contamination from cement factories by dust pollution on growth and yield of cotton. Ann Plant Physiol 7, 73–77
using available technology should be forced to avoid plant Wintermans IF, Mots A (1965): Spectrophotometric characteristics of
contamination and possibly fruit contamination. Also, avail- chlorophylls a and b and their pheophytins in ethanol. Bioch Biophys
Acta 109, 448–453
able methodologies to reduce plant contamination could be Zanichelli D, Carloni F, Hasanaj E, D'Andrea N, Filippini A, Setti L (2006):
studied in the future. Additional work with dust (short and Production of ethanol by an integrated valorisation of olive oil byproducts:
long exposure) could focus on the cause of tissue damage, The role of phenolic inhibition. Environ Sci Pollut Res, OnlineFirst <DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.06.316>
on possible effects to olive carbohydrate accumulation and
Received: January 20th, 2006
partitioning, and on fruit productivity and quality in unpol- Accepted: August 7th, 2006
luted and polluted areas. OnlineFirst: August 8th, 2006

214 Env Sci Pollut Res 14 (3) 2007