Solar UV-B radiation affects below-ground parameters in a fen ecosystem in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: Implications of stratospheric ozone depletion
Stratospheric ozone depletion caused by the release of chlorofluorocarbons is most pronounced at high latitudes, especially in the Southern Hemisphere (including the so- called 'ozone hole'). The consequent increase in solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280-315 nm) reaching the earth...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2002 |
| País: | Argentina |
| Institución: | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
| Repositorio: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/152138 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/152138 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | MYCORRHIZAL SYMBIOSIS ROOT GROWTH SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE ULTRAVIOLET-B RADIATION https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
| Sumario: | Stratospheric ozone depletion caused by the release of chlorofluorocarbons is most pronounced at high latitudes, especially in the Southern Hemisphere (including the so- called 'ozone hole'). The consequent increase in solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280-315 nm) reaching the earth's surface may cause a variety of alterations in terrestrial ecosystems. Most effects might be expected to occur above-ground since sunlight does not penetrate effectively below-ground. Here, we demonstrate that solar UV-B radiation in a fen in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), where the ozone hole passes overhead several times during the Austral spring, is causing large changes of below-ground processes of this ecosystem. During the third and fourth year of a manipulative field experiment, we investigated root systems in these plots and found that when the ambient solar UV-B radiation was substantially reduced, there was a 30% increase in summer root length production and as much as a threefold decrease in already low symbiotic mycorrhizal colonization frequency of the roots compared with plots receiving near-ambient solar UV-B. There was also an apparent shift toward older age classes of roots under reduced solar UV-B. Such large changes in root system behaviour may have decided effects on competition and other ecological interactions in this ecosystem. |
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