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Seasonal changes in needle water content and needle ABA concentration of Japanese red pine, Pinus densiflora, in declining forests on Mt. Gokurakuji, Hiroshima prefecture, Japan

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Abstract

To evaluate the effects of air pollution on the decline of Pinus densiflora forests, various research has been conducted around Mt. Gokurakuji (34° 23′N, 132° 19′E, 693 m a.s.l.) north of the Seto Inland Sea, west Japan. To investigate the mechanisms responsible for decreases in photosynthesis (Pn) and stomatal conductance (gl), δ13C of needles and seasonal changes in the water content (WC) and abscisic acid concentration (ABA) of needles were measured in various stands. The δ13C values were less negative in declining stands and younger needles. ABA and WC were not correlated with each other. WC decreased consistently with needle age while the ABA showed a minimum in August and a smaller content in older needles. Monthly precipitation and the daily maximum vapor pressure were not correlated with ABA and WC. In declining stands, WC and ABA tended to be higher and lower, respectively, than in nondeclining stands. These results suggest that the trees in declining stands received less water stress than those in nondeclining stands and the differences in gl and δ13C are not caused by the difference in water stress. The possibilities of the effects of air pollution and the infection of pine-wood nematode on the physiological decline on the pine needles are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the members of the Nakane Laboratory and Sakurai Laboratory, especially Mr. K. Tsuji and Dr. H. Takeda, for ABA analysis, and the members of the Sakugawa Laboratory, especially Ms. T. Yuhara and Mr. T. Hirakawa (Towa Kagaku Co.), for microclimatic measurement. We also thank Dr. T. Kobayashi of Kagawa University for advice and comments on the manuscript. This study is part of a large project to understand the process of forest decline in Japan, funded by the Core Research for Evolutionary Science and Technology (CREST) of JST.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology and Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku Toyama City, Toyama, 930-8555, Japan

    Atsushi Kume

  2. Center for Bioresource Field Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan

    Yuko T Hanba

  3. Graduate School of Biosphere Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

    Kaneyuki Nakane & Hiroshi Sakugawa

  4. Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

    Naoki Sakurai

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  1. Atsushi Kume
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  2. Yuko T Hanba
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  3. Kaneyuki Nakane
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  4. Naoki Sakurai
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  5. Hiroshi Sakugawa
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Correspondence to Atsushi Kume.

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Kume, A., Hanba, Y.T., Nakane, K. et al. Seasonal changes in needle water content and needle ABA concentration of Japanese red pine, Pinus densiflora, in declining forests on Mt. Gokurakuji, Hiroshima prefecture, Japan. J Plant Res 119, 231–238 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-006-0265-3

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