Toxic air is causing malnutrition in trees

Toxic air is causing malnutrition in trees

News:

1. Air pollution is causing malnutrition in Trees as per the new study published in the Nature.

Important facts:

2.The study examined 40,000 roots from 13,000 soil samples at 137 forest sites in 20 European countries to determine the fungi’s tolerance to pollution.

3.The key highlights of the study are given below:

a)  Mycorrhizal fungi is hosted by the trees in their roots to receive nutrients from the soil.

b) These fungi provide essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium from soil in exchange for carbon from the tree.

c)This plant-fungal symbiotic relationship is crucial for the health of the tree.

d) However, high levels of the nutrition elements like nitrogen and phosphorus in the mycorrhizae changes them to act as pollutants rather than nutrients, the findings showed.

Sign of malnutrition:

• It can be seen in the form of discoloured leaves and excessive falling of leaves.
• There is an alarming trend of tree malnutrition across Europe, which leaves forests vulnerable to pets, disease, and climate change.

Reasons

•  Ecosystem changes are negatively affecting the tree health.
• Air pollution impacts trees by harming fungi that is important for providing mineral nutrients to tree roots.

Suggestions:

4. The researchers suggested that the results should be used to design new studies into the link between pollution, soil, mycorrhizae, and tree growth.