Search results for "POLLUTANTs"
showing 10 items of 1125 documents
Organic matter quantity and quality, metals availability and foraminiferal assemblages as environmental proxy applied to the Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia)
2016
International audience; This study analyzes the benthic trophic state of Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia) based on the total organic matter and the bioavailability of biopolymeric carbon including proteins (PTN), carbohydrates (CHO), lipids (LIP), chlorophyll a, as well as bacteria counts. The overall simultaneously extracted metals (SEM), and acid volatile sulfides (AVS) as well as the SEM/AVS ratio indicative of the toxicity of the sediments also were analyzed aiming to study their impact in the dimension, composition and structure of both dead and living benthic foraminiferal assemblages.In the studied sites TOC content is relatively high and the PTN/CHO values indicate that they can be consider…
Lichen microalgae are sensitive to environmental concentrations of atrazine
2017
The identification of new organisms for environmental toxicology bioassays is currently a priority, since these tools are strongly limited by the ecological relevance of taxa used to study global change. Lichens are sensitive bioindicators of air quality and their microalgae are an untapped source for new low-cost miniaturized bioassays with ecological importance. In order to increase the availability of a wider range of taxa for bioassays, the sensitivity of two symbiotic lichen microalgae, Asterochloris erici and Trebouxia sp. TR9, to atrazine was evaluated. To achieve this goal, axenic cultures of these phycobionts in suspension were exposed to a range of environmental concentrations of …
A field study on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and pigment parameters along a vertical canopy gradient of four tree species in an urban envi…
2013
Abstract: To better understand the potential uses of vegetation indices based on the sun-induced upward and downward chlorophyll fluorescence at leaf and at canopy scales, a field study was carried out in the city of Valencia (Spain). Fluorescence yield (FY) indices were derived for trees at different traffic intensity locations and at three canopy heights. This allowed investigating within-tree and between-tree variations of FY indices for four tree species. Several FY indices showed a significant (p < 0.05) and important effect of tree location for the species Morus alba (white mulberry) and Phoenix canariensis (Canary Island date palm). The upward FY parameters of M. alba, and the upward…
Responses of citrus plants to ozone: leaf biochemistry, antioxidant mechanisms and lipid peroxidation.
2006
The effects of ozone upon 3-year-old trees of Clementina mandarin (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.) cv. Marisol exposed for 12 months to ambient (10 nl l(-1)) and high (30 and 65 nl l(-1)) concentrations in open top chambers (OTCs) were investigated. The data showed that in leaves, ozone reduced total chlorophylls, carotenoid and carbohydrate concentration. and increased 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) content and ethylene production. In treated plants, the ascorbate leaf pool was decreased, while lipid peroxidation and Solute leakaGe were significantly higher than in ozone-free controls. The data indicated that ozone triggered protective mechanisms against oxidative stress in c…
The toxicity of Roundup® 360 SL formulation and its main constituents: Glyphosate and isopropylamine towards non-target water photoautotrophs
2010
The toxicity of commercial formulation of Roundup® 360 SL, widely used, nonselective herbicide and its main constituents, glyphosate (PMG), equimolar (1:1) isopropylamine salt of glyphosate (GIPA) and isopropylamine (IPA) was examined towards eight aquatic microphotoautotrophs; seven cyanobacterial strains representing either saline or freshwater communities, and common eukaryotic algae Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck. Autotrophs were cultured 21 days in their appropriate standard media supplemented with various amounts of Roundup®, glyphosate, GIPA and IPA. The determination of the growth of examined photoautotrophs was performed by time-course measurements of total chlorophyll content in ex…
A battery of toxicity tests as indicators of decontamination in composting oily waste.
2000
Heterogeneous oily waste from an old dumping site was composted in three windrows constructed from different proportions of waste, sewage sludge, and bark. The objectives of this pilot study were to examine the usefulness of composting as a treatment method for this particular waste and to study decontamination in the composting process by using a battery of toxicity tests. Five samples from the windrow having intermediate oil concentrations were tested with toxicity tests based on microbes (Pseudomonas putida growth inhibition test, ToxiChromotest, MetPLATE, and three different modifications of a luminescent bacterial test), enzyme inhibition (reverse electron transport), plants (duckweed …
Upward and downward solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence yield indices of four tree species as indicators of traffic pollution in Valencia
2013
Abstract: Passive steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence (Fs) provides a direct diagnosis of the functional status of vegetation photosynthesis. With the prospect of mapping Fs using remote sensing techniques, field measurements are mandatory to understand to which extent Fs allows detecting plant stress in different environments. Trees of four common species in Valencia were classified in either a low or a high local traffic exposure class based on their leaf magnetic value. Upward and downward hyperspectral fluorescence yield (FY) and indices based on the two Fs peaks (at 687 and 741 nm) were calculated. FY indices of P. canariensis and P. x acerifolia were significantly different between …
Chlorophyll a fluorescence, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in tomato in response to ozone and benomyl
2001
Ozone is a widely distributed phytotoxic air pollutant and is known to reduce the yield of several important agricultural crops in Spain. However, benomyl has been found to lessen the adverse impact of ozone on plants. We studied the effects of ozone and benomyl on chlorophyll a fluorescence, antioxidant enzymes, and lipid peroxidation in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Tiny Tim) grown in open-top chambers in the field. Our results indicate that benomyl prevented the peroxidation of membrane lipids and increased protection of PSII from ozone. There was also a significant reduction in the activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase in ozone-exposed plants that had not b…
Lichen rehydration in heavy metal polluted environments: Pb modulates the oxidative response of both Ramalina farinacea thalli and its isolated micro…
2014
Lichens are adapted to desiccation/rehydration and accumulate heavy metals, which induce ROS especially from the photobiont photosynthetic pigments. Although their mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance are still to be unravelled, they seem related to symbionts' reciprocal upregulation of antioxidant systems. With the aim to study the effect of Pb on oxidative status during rehydration, the kinetics of intracellular ROS, lipid peroxidation and chlorophyll autofluorescence of whole Ramalina farinacea thalli and its isolated microalgae (Trebouxia TR1 and T. TR9) was recorded. A genetic characterization of the microalgae present in the thalli used was also carried out in order to assess possib…
Tobacco plants detect a decrease of environmental genotoxicity in Toulouse (France).
2003
Tobacco plants, heterozygous for two independent loci involved in the chlorophyll parenchyma differentiation, allow the genotoxic effects of the atmosphere of the industrial estate South of Toulouse to be estimated. Somatic spots of green cellular colonies on yellow-green background, were counted to calculate the cellular rates of reversion. Two experiments were carried out in 1981, and in 1997. A general decrease of genotoxic effects was observed. These observations were interpreted as being due to a general decrease of the air pollution evaluated by the development of the concentrations of three toxic gases before and after the implementation of cleanup devices. The results obtained demon…