Responses of Plants to UV-B Radiation

The research in this book covers papers on a great number of research projects on the responses of plants and crops of natural terrestrial ecosystems, of agro-ecosystems, and of aquatic ecosystems, to enhanced solar UV-B as a result of stratospheric ozone depletion. Some introductory chapters deal with general aspects of how plants respond to UV-B radiation.
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is a primary energy resource for terrestrial plants, necessary for plant growth. Inevitably terrestrial plants absorb UV-B when exposed to solar radiation. The spectral balance between PAR and UV-B is discussed in several chapters. The responses of plants and ecosystems from the Antarctic and Arctic to enhanced solar UV-B radiation as a consequence of the hole in the ozone layer are considered in some detail. In addition the papers in the book discuss the problem of how responses of plants to UV-B radiation interact with other environmental factors.
The book is of great importance for those who are involved in global change topics: biologists, ecologists, earth scientists, agronomists, environmental scientists, and those who develop environmental policy.

Autorentext
Yiannis Manetas was born in Athens, Greece (1947), studied Natural Sciences and Geography in the University of Athens (1970) and received his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Patras, Greece (1976). Since 1978 he serves at various research and teaching positions in the University of Patras and he is currently Professor of Plant Physiology in the Department of Biology. He also worked during short research visits in the Universities of Goteborg (Sweden), Stirling (Scotland), Essen and Karlsruhe (Germany) and in the Experimental Station of Abisco (Swedish Lapland). His publication list includes more than 120 research papers and review articles in international journals. His current research interests concern the ecophysiology of Mediterranean plants, the role of foliar anthocyanins and the function of non-foliar chloroplasts.

Inhalt
Section 1 General.- Is provitamin D a UV-B receptor in plants?.- (Poly)phenolic compounds in pollen and spores of Antarctic plants as indicators of solar UV-B: a new proxy for the construction of past solar UV-B?.- The direct effects of UV-B radiation on Betula pubescens litter decomposing at four European field sites.- Section 2 Terrestrial Plants and Terrestrial Ecosystems.- The reduction of aboveground Calamagrostis epigeios mass and tiller number by enhanced U V-B in a dune-grassland ecosystem.- The influence of enhanced UV-B radiation on the spring geophyte Pulmonaria officinalis.- The growth, flower properties and demography of Anthemis arvensis exposed to enhanced UV-B radiation.- Section 3 Arctic and Antarctic Plants and Ecosystems.- Short-term impacts of enhanced UV-B radiation on photo-assimilate allocation and metabolism: a possible interpretation for time-dependent inhibition of growth.- Field research on the effects of UV-B filters on terrestrial Antarctic vegetation.- The effects of altered levels of UV-B radiation on an Antarctic grass and lichen.- Consequences of depletion of stratospheric ozone for terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems: the response of Deschampsia antarctica to enhanced UV-B radiation in a controlled environment.- Section 4 Interactions of UV-B Radiation with Other Factors of Terrestrial Environments.- Reduction of ambient UV-B radiation does not affect growth but may change the flowering pattern of Rosmarinus officinalis L..- UV-B and PAR in single and mixed canopies grown under different UV-B exclusions in the field.- The response of Vicia faba to enhanced UV-B radiation under low and near ambient PAR levels.- Growth under UV-B radiation increases tolerance to high-light stress in pea and bean plants.- Nutrient availabilityinfluences UV-B sensitivity of Plantago lanceolata.- Increased solar UV-B radiation may reduce infection by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in dune grassland plants: evidence from five years of field exposure.- Combined effects of enhanced UV-B radiation and additional nutrients on growth of two Mediterranean plant species.- Effects of UV-B radiation and additional irrigation on the Mediterranean evergreen sclerophyll Ceratonia siliqua L. under field conditions.- Combined effects of CO2 concentration and enhanced UV-B radiation on faba bean.- Enhanced UV-B radiation, artificial wounding and leaf chemical defensive potential in Phlomis fruticosa L..- Section 5 Aquatic Plants and Aquatic Ecosystems.- Responses of aquatic algae and cyanobacteria to solar UV-B.- Effects of UV-B radiation on a charophycean alga, Chara aspera.- Differential sensitivity to natural ultraviolet radiation among phytoplankton species in Arctic lakes (Spitsbergen, Norway).- The photoprotective role of humus-DOC for Selenastrum and Daphnia.- Species Index.