Responses of Plants to UV-B Radiation (Advances in Vegetation Science Book 18)

The research in this book covers papers on a great number of research projects on the responses of plants and crops of natural terrestrial ecosystems, of agro-ecosystems, and of aquatic ecosystems, to enhanced solar UV-B as a result of stratospheric ozone depletion. Some introductory chapters deal with general aspects of how plants respond to UV-B radiation. Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is a primary energy resource for terrestrial plants, necessary for plant growth. Inevitably terrestrial plants absorb UV-B when exposed to solar radiation. The spectral balance between PAR and UV-B is discussed in several chapters. The responses of plants and ecosystems from the Antarctic and Arctic to enhanced solar UV-B radiation as a consequence of the hole in the ozone layer are considered in some detail. In addition the papers in the book discuss the problem of how responses of plants to UV-B radiation interact with other environmental factors. The book is of great importance for those who are involved in global change topics: biologists, ecologists, earth scientists, agronomists, environmental scientists, and those who develop environmental policy. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Is provitamin D a UV-B receptor in plants?....Pages 1-8 (Poly)phenolic compounds in pollen and spores of Antarctic plants as indicators of solar UV-B....Pages 9-26 The direct effects of UV-B radiation on Betula pubescens litter decomposing at four European field sites....Pages 27-36 The reduction of aboveground Calamagrostis epigeios mass and tiller number by enhanced UV-B in a dune-grassland ecosystem....Pages 37-48 The influence of enhanced UV-B radiation on the spring geophyte Pulmonaria officinalis ....Pages 49-56 The growth, flower properties and demography of Anthemis arvensis exposed to enhanced UV-B radiation....Pages 57-64 Short-term impacts of enhanced UV-B radiation on photo-assimilate allocation and metabolism: a possible interpretation for time-dependent inhibition of growth....Pages 65-73 Field research on the effects of UV-B filters on terrestrial Antarctic vegetation....Pages 75-86 The effects of altered levels of UV-B radiation on an Antarctic grass and lichen....Pages 87-99 Consequences of depletion of stratospheric ozone for terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems: the response of Deschampsia antarctica to enhanced UV-B radiation in a controlled environment....Pages 101-115 Reduction of ambient UV-B radiation does not affect growth but may change the flowering pattern of Rosmarinus officinalis L.....Pages 117-122 UV-B and PAR in single and mixed canopies grown under different UV-B exclusions in the field....Pages 123-133 The response of Vicia faba to enhanced UV-B radiation under low and near ambient PAR levels....Pages 135-146 Growth under UV-B radiation increases tolerance to high-light stress in pea and bean plants....Pages 147-156 Nutrient availability influences UV-B sensitivity of Plantago lanceolata ....Pages 157-168 Increased solar UV-B radiation may reduce infection by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in dune grassland plants: evidence from five years of field exposure....Pages 169-177 Combined effects of enhanced UV-B radiation and additional nutrients on growth of two Mediterranean plant species....Pages 179-186 Effects of UV-B radiation and additional irrigation on the Mediterranean evergreen sclerophyll Ceratonia siliqua L. under field conditions....Pages 187-193 Combined effects of CO 2 concentration and enhanced UV-B radiation on faba bean....Pages 195-210 Enhanced UV-B radiation, artificial wounding and leaf chemical defensive potential in Phlomis fruticosa L.....Pages 211-217 Responses of aquatic algae and cyanobacteria to solar UV-B....Pages 219-236 Effects of UV-B radiation on a charophycean alga, Chara aspera ....Pages 237-246 Differential sensitivity to natural ultraviolet radiation among phytoplankton species in Arctic lakes (Spitsbergen, Norway)....Pages 247-259 The photoprotective role of humus-DOC for Selenastrum and Daphnia ....Pages 261-273 Back Matter....Pages 275-278