Air Pollutant Deposition and Effects on Plants

Abstract

Plants are often more sensitive to air pollutants than man. They may accumulate air pollutants in parts of their shoots without showing any injury at all. This has the advantage of making pollutants accessible to chemical analysis even if they occur only temporarily or in such low concentrations as to make their detection very difficult. The presence of a substance does not necessarily imply its phytotoxicity. Therefore the terms “bioindicator” and bioindication should be distinguished. Bioindicators are convenient if they exhibit typical and distinct symptoms (effect). A toxic effect in the invisible range, however, is only shown by bioindications, i.e. by the physiological, biochemical or ecological behavior of the plant. Examples are given for accumulative bioindicators as well as for bioindications.