Abstract
An exposure system for exposing plants to gradients of gaseous air pollutants in the field was tested using sulfur dioxide SO2 and hydrogen fluoride (HF). Well defined linear gradients of SO2 concentration and HF flux were easily produced and were repeatable from exposure to exposure. The gradients were altered by wind speed and direction, but in tightly closed canopies, the alterations were minor. This system has many advantages: a graded series of exposures can be conducted in a small area, plants may be grown using accepted cultural practices, the cost of the apparatus is low, and more than one pollutant can be used, either concurrently or countercurrently. Disadvantages include the requirement for an intensive air monitoring network and an unnatural vertical pollutant profile in the canopy. The gradient system should be used as a supplement to open-top chambers, and not as a replacement for them.
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Laurence, J.A., Maclean, D.C., Mandl, R.H. et al. Field tests of a linear gradient system for exposure of row crops to S02 and HF. Water Air Soil Pollut 17, 399–407 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00460106
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00460106