Does Acid Rain Alter the Leaf Anatomy and Photosynthetic Pigments in Urban Trees?

ABSTRACT: Megapolis such as Mexico City, have atmospheric pollutants that interact with the humidity and solar radiation. The topography of this city promotes air stagnation, generating atmospheric pollutants and episodes of acid rain, a phenomenon well recorded since the end of the 1980s. However, little we know about how urban trees respond to acid rain in the city. Here we present how simulated acid rain causes anatomical and changes in photosynthetic pigments in two of the most abundant urban trees in Mexico City: Liquidambar styraciflua L. and Fraxinus uhdei (Wenz.) Lingelsh. We first described the leaf anatomy of both species. Then, we used one-year-old trees sprayed with sulfuric acid solutions at pH 2.5 and 3.8, and evaluated visible leaf damage, anatomical alterations, and chl

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez-Sanchez VM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7411892 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature