Gaseous Air Pollutants and Plant Metabolism

Gaseous Air Pollutants and Plant Metabolism mainly talks about plants and air pollution. The publication of this book is inspired by a symposium on plants and pollution, which generated great interest among the personnel related to the field. The book begins with a brief background on air pollution and continues with a discussion on different types, effects, and solutions to the pollution. The book also features studies about the gaseous air pollution in North America, China, and Japan. The chapters that follow explore the different effects of pollution on chloroplasts, respiration, biochemistry, plant, and plant cells. The text is a valuable reference to undergraduates or postgraduates of chemistry and its related studies.

I Defining Pollution Problems

1 Air Pollution Problems in Western Europe

2 Air Pollution Problems in some Central European Countries—Czechoslovakia, The German Democratic Republic and Poland

3 Defining Gaseous Pollution Problems in North America

4 Air Pollution Problems and the Research Conducted on the Effects of Gaseous Pollutants on Plants in China

5 Defining Pollution Problems in the Far East—a Case Study of Japanese Air Pollution Problems

II Pollutants and Plant Cells

6 Permeability of Plant Cuticles to Gaseous Air Pollutants

7 Uptake and Distribution of Pollutants in the Plant and Residence Time of Active Species

8 Pollutants and Plant Cells: Effects on Membranes

9 Effects of Various Gaseous Pollutants on Plant Cell Ultrastructure

III Effects on Light Reactions

10 The Role of Stomata in Resistance Mechanisms

11 Photosynthetic Gas Exchange in Leaves Affected by Air Pollutants

12 Effects of Gaseous Air Pollutants on Stromal Reactions

13 Effects of Air Pollutants on Light Reactions in Chloroplasts

14 Effects of SO2 on Light-Modulated Enzyme Reactions

IV Effects on Photophosphorylation and Respiration

15 The Influence of Atmospheric Pollutants and their Cellular Products upon Photophosphorylation and Related Events

16 Phytotoxic Air Pollutants and Oxidative Phosphorylation

17 The Effect of Air Pollutants on Apparent Respiration

V Effects on Metabolite Pools

18 Interactions of Gaseous Pollutants with Carbohydrate Metabolism

19 Air Pollutant Effects on Biochemicals Derived from Metabolism: Organic, Fatty and Amino Acids

20 Biosynthesis and Emission of Hydrogen Sulfide by Higher Plants

21 Modification of Plant Cell Buffering Capacities by Gaseous Air Pollutants

VI Relationship of Biochemical Effects to Environmental Problems

22 Biochemical Diagnostic Tests for the Effect of Air Pollution on Plants

23 Changes in the Nutritional Quality of Crops

24 Relationship of Biochemical Effects of Air Pollutants on Plants to Environmental Problems: Insect and Microbial Interactions

VII Biochemical Mechanisms of Pollutant Tolerance

25 Enzymatic Investigations on Tolerance in Forest Trees

26 Emissions of Volatiles from Plants under Air Pollution Stress

27 Biochemical Aspects of Plant Tolerance to Ozone and Oxyradicals: Superoxide Dismutase

28 Epilogue: A Biochemical Overview

Appendix 1: Latin and Common Names of Plants and Insects Cited in the Text

Appendix 2: Conversion of Air Pollutant Units

List of Participants

Species Index

Subject Index