The impact of air pollution control measures and the COVID-19 pandemic on photosynthesis in urban trees.

Phytotoxic air pollutants such as atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO) are among the major stresses affecting tree photosynthesis in urban areas. We clarified the relationship between NO concentrations and photosynthetic function for three major urban trees, Prunus × yedoensis, Rhododendron pulchrum, and Ginkgo biloba, planted in Kyoto and surrounding cities, combining our published data and new data collected from 2020 to 2023. High NO increased long-term water use efficiency for all species.

Prolonged exposure to hypergravity increases number and size of cells and enhances lignin deposition in the stem of Arabidopsis thaliana.

We have performed a lab-based hypergravity cultivation experiment using a centrifuge equipped with a lighting system and examined long-term effects of hypergravity on the development of the main axis of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.) primary inflorescence, which comprises the rachis and peduncle, collectively referred to as the main stem for simplicity.

Correction: Evaluation of thermoregulation of different pine organs in early spring and estimation of heat reward for the western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) on male cones.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Life Cycle Plasticity in and in the Arctic and the Temperate Zone.

ceae Jülich is one of the cold-adapted fungal families in basidiomycetes. The representative genera, (Pers.) Fr.

Nanodiamond-Enhanced Nanofiber Separators for High-Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Current lithium-ion battery separators made from polyolefins such as polypropylene and polyethylene generally suffer from low porosity, low wettability, and slow ionic conductivity and tend to perform poorly against heat-triggering reactions that may cause potentially catastrophic issues, such as fire. To overcome these limitations, here we report that a porous composite membrane consisting of poly(vinylidene fluoride--hexafluoropropylene) nanofibers functionalized with nanodiamonds (NDs) can realize a thermally resistant, mechanically robust, and ionically conductive separator. We critically reveal the role of NDs in the polymer matrix of the membrane to improve the thermal, mechanical, crystalline, and electrochemical properties of the composites.

Leaf optical properties and photosynthesis of fern species with a wide range of divergence time in relation to mesophyll anatomy.

Background And Aims: For a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of changing plant photosynthetic capacity during plant evolutionary history, knowledge of leaf gas exchange and optical properties are essential, both of which relate strongly to mesophyll anatomy. Although ferns are suitable for investigating the evolutionary history of photosynthetic capacity, comprehensive research of fern species has yet to be undertaken in this regard.

Methods: We investigated leaf optical properties, gas exchange and mesophyll anatomy of fern species with a wide range of divergence time, using 66 ferns from natural habitats and eight glasshouse-grown ferns.

Effects of sex and soil water chemistry on leaf morphology and physiology of Myrica gale var. tomentosa.

Plants respond to environmental stressors, such as an oligotrophic environments, by altering the morphological and physiological functions of their leaves. Sex affects these functions because of the asymmetric cost of reproduction in dioecious plants. We compared the leaf mass per leaf area (LMA), ratio of intercellular air space in leaf mesophyll tissue (mesophyll porosity), palisade thickness, and carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of leaves of the dioecious shrub Myrica gale based on sex and gradients of soil water chemistry across habitats in the field.

Three-dimensionally visualized rhizoid system of moss, Physcomitrium patens, by refraction-contrast X-ray micro-computed tomography.

Land plants have two types of shoot-supporting systems, root system and rhizoid system, in vascular plants and bryophytes. However, since the evolutionary origin of the systems is different, how much they exploit common systems or distinct systems to architect their structures is largely unknown. To understand the regulatory mechanism of how bryophytes architect the rhizoid system responding to environmental factors, we have developed the methodology to visualize and quantitatively analyze the rhizoid system of the moss, Physcomitrium patens, in 3D.

Evaluation of thermoregulation of different pine organs in early spring and estimation of heat reward for the western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) on male cones.

The western conifer seed bug (WCSB, Leptoglossus occidentalis) is a pest of many pine species and is invasive worldwide. WCSB directly and indirectly deteriorates pine nut production by sucking seeds from cones. Currently, researchers think that WCSBs search for food by a combination of cues from visible light, infrared radiation, and chemicals such as monoterpenes.

How plants grow under gravity conditions besides 1 g: perspectives from hypergravity and space experiments that employ bryophytes as a model organism.

Plants have evolved and grown under the selection pressure of gravitational force at 1 g on Earth. In response to this selection pressure, plants have acquired gravitropism to sense gravity and change their growth direction. In addition, plants also adjust their morphogenesis in response to different gravitational forces in a phenomenon known as gravity resistance.

Impact of reduced ozone concentration on the mountain forests of Mt. Tateyama, Japan.

The central mountainous area of Japan is affected by air pollutant emissions from nearby countries such as China and Korea. Sharp increases in the consumption of fossil fuels in the early 21st century, associated with rapid industrialization in China, resulted in long-range transport of pollutants from East Asia and increases in the harmful effects of pollution. However, the air pollutants emissions have decreased since 2006, when air pollution countermeasures were implemented in China.

Correction to: Why is chlorophyll b only used in light-harvesting systems?

The article Why is chlorophyll b only used in light-harvesting systems.

Correction to: A hypergravity environment increases chloroplast size, photosynthesis, and plant growth in the moss Physcomitrella patens.

The original article can be found online.

Nutrient deficiency promotes male-biased apparent sex ratios at the ramet level in the dioecious plant Myrica gale var. tomentosa in oligotrophic environments in bogs.

In populations of dioecious plants, the differences in the cost of reproduction between male and female plants can promote a male-biased sex ratio. In this study, we examine the macronutrient levels in tissues of the dioecious wetland shrub Myrica gale to identify the cost of reproduction for male and female plants and to examine the effect of nutrients on the apparent sex ratio at the ramet level. We examined plants across 12 populations of M.

Why is chlorophyll b only used in light-harvesting systems?

Chlorophylls (Chl) are important pigments in plants that are used to absorb photons and release electrons. There are several types of Chls but terrestrial plants only possess two of these: Chls a and b. The two pigments form light-harvesting Chl a/b-binding protein complexes (LHC), which absorb most of the light.

Correction to: Importance of the green color, absorption gradient, and spectral absorption of chloroplasts for the radiative energy balance of leaves.

The article "Importance of the green color, absorption gradient, and spectral absorption of chloroplasts for the radiative energy balance of leaves", written by Atsushi Kume, was originally published Online First without open access.

A hypergravity environment increases chloroplast size, photosynthesis, and plant growth in the moss Physcomitrella patens.

The physiological and anatomical responses of bryophytes to altered gravity conditions will provide crucial information for estimating how plant physiological traits have evolved to adapt to significant increases in the effects of gravity in land plant history. We quantified changes in plant growth and photosynthesis in the model plant of mosses, Physcomitrella patens, grown under a hypergravity environment for 25 days or 8 weeks using a custom-built centrifuge equipped with a lighting system. This is the first study to examine the response of bryophytes to hypergravity conditions.

Leaf color is fine-tuned on the solar spectra to avoid strand direct solar radiation.

The spectral distributions of light absorption rates by intact leaves are notably different from the incident solar radiation spectra, for reasons that remain elusive. Incident global radiation comprises two main components; direct radiation from the direction of the sun, and diffuse radiation, which is sunlight scattered by molecules, aerosols and clouds. Both irradiance and photon flux density spectra differ between direct and diffuse radiation in their magnitude and profile.

Impact of soil water chemistry on the apparent sex ratio of the flowering ramets of the dioecious plant Myrica gale var. tomentosa.

We determined whether the apparent (M/Fl) sex ratio (male ramets/flowering ramets) and apparent reproductive ramet ratio (Fl/Li ratio; flowering ramets/living ramets) in 15 Myrica gale var. tomentosa populations varied with dissolved total nitrogen, dissolved total phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, or pH in the soil water. Our aim was to define the environmental factors affecting the M/Fl sex ratio and Fl/Li ratio of the populations.

Number concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles on the roadside of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine route, Japan.

Measurements of ultrafine particles (UFPs) with diameters smaller than 100 nm were made with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer on the roadside of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine route on the western slope of Mt. Tateyama, Japan, in the summer and autumn of 2007 and 2008. The number concentrations of nanoparticles (NPs) with diameters smaller than 50 nm increased sharply in the morning.

The ratio of transmitted near-infrared radiation to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) increases in proportion to the adsorbed PAR in the canopy.

The daily total photosynthetically active radiation (400-700 nm, PAR) and near-infrared radiation (700-1000 nm, NIR) were measured in the understory beneath the canopy (PARt and NIRt) and above the canopy (PARi and NIRi) of a Japanese cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest during the snow-free period (May to November). The integration of spectral radiation for NIR and that for PAR, and the daily integrations of instantaneous NIR and PAR, reduced the noises from the optical difference in spectrum and from canopy structure heterogeneity, sky condition and solar elevation. PARi/PARt was linearly related to NIRt/PARt (R² = 0.

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.

To evaluate the effects of air pollution on the decline of Pinus densiflora forests, various research has been conducted around Mt. Gokurakuji (34 degrees 23'N, 132 degrees 19'E, 693 m a.s.

Ecosystem development and carbon cycle on a glacier foreland in the high Arctic, Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.

The Arctic terrestrial ecosystem is thought to be extremely susceptible to climate change. However, because of the diverse responses of ecosystem components to change, an overall response of the ecosystem carbon cycle to climate change is still hard to predict. In this review, we focus on several recent studies conducted to clarify the pattern of the carbon cycle on the deglaciated area of Ny-Alesund, Svalbard in the high Arctic.

Stem water transport of Lithocarpus edulis, an evergreen oak with radial-porous wood.

The stem water conducting system of an evergreen broad-leaved oak, Lithocarpus edulis (Mak.) Nakai, was investigated. Evergreen broad-leaved oaks (Lithocarpus, Castanopsis, Cyclobalanopsis, Quercus) belonging to the Quercoideae are a major component of Asian monsoon forests, and are characterized by the possession of radial-porous wood.