The effect of vehicle exhaust emissions on morphometric and physiological characteristics of Rhus typhina
The effect of vehicle exhaust emissions on morphometric and physiological characteristics of Rhus typhina

Summary/Abstract: Rhus typhina L. (Staghorn Sumac) is fast-growing woody species that reproduces by rhizomes and seeds. Because of its biological benefits, this deciduous member of the Anacardiaceae family has been introduced from its native habitats in the east of North America to urbanized landscapes of Ukraine. In this study we anаlyse changes in morphometric and physiological indicators of 12-year plants of this species in artificial phytocenoses near highways in Pavlograd, Ukraine. Experimental plots were placed at a distance from 25 to 130 meters from the road. The control group of plants was at a distance of 1500 m from the highways. We measured the length and thickness of the annual sprout, number of leaves on it, the content of chlorophyll in the leaves and accumulation of cadmium and lead in the leaf tissues. It was found that, compared to the plants in the relatively clean area, the greatest decreases in the length of the annual shoots of the trees in the plantations were for those which were at a distance of twenty five metres and forty meters from the traffic lanes of the highways. The thickness of the annual shoots of the trees in the plantations did not differ from plants in the clean zone.

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