Interspecific Variation in SO2 Flux

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Abstract
The objective of this study was to clarify the relationships among stomatal, residual, and epidermal conductances in determining the flux of SO2 air pollution to leaves. Variations in leaf SO2 and H2O vapor fluxes were determined using four plant species: Pisum sativum L. (garden pea), Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. flacca (mutant of tomato), Geranium carolinianum L. (wild geranium), and Diplacus aurantiacus (Curtis) Jeps. (a native California shrub). Fluxes were measured using the mass-balance approach during exposure to 4.56 micromoles per cubic meter (0.11 microliters per liter) SO2 for 2 hours in a controlled environmental chamber. Flux through adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces with closed stomata ranged from 1.9 to 9.4 nanomoles per square meter per second for SO2, and 0.3 to 1.3 millimoles per square meter per second for H2O vapor. Flux of SO2 into leaves through stomach ranged from .apprx. 0 to 8.5 (dark) and 3.8 to 16.0 (light) millimoles per square meter per second. Flux of H2O vapor from leaves through stomata ranged from .apprx. 0 to 0.6 (dark) to 0.4 to 0.9 (light) millimole per square meter per second. Lycopersicon had internal flux rates for both SO2 and H2O vapor over twice as high as for the other species. Stomatal conductance based on H2O vapor flux averaged from 0.07 to 0.13 mole per square meter per second among the four species. Internal conductance of SO2 as calculated from SO2 flux was from 0.04 mole per square meter per second lower to 0.06 mole per square meter per second higher than stomatal conductance. For Pisum, Geranium, and Diplacus stomatal conductance was the same or slightly higher than internal conductance, indicating that, in general, SO2 flux could be predicted from stomatal conductance for H2O vapor. However, for the Lycopersicon mutant, internal leaf conductance was much higher than stomatal conductance, indicating that factors inside leaves can play a significant role in determining SO2 flux.