title: Budburst phenology of white birch in industrially polluted areas.
abstract: Effects of environmental contamination on plant seasonal development have only rarely been properly documented. Monitoring of leaf growth in mountain birch, Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii, around a nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk hinted advanced budburst phenology in most polluted sites. However, under laboratory conditions budburst of birch twigs cut in late winter from trees naturally growing around three point polluters (nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk, aluminium factory at Kandalaksha, and iron pellet plant at Kostomuksha) showed no relationship with distance from the emission source. In a greenhouse experiment, budburst phenology of mountain birch seedlings grown in unpolluted soil did not depend on seedling origin (from heavily polluted vs. clean sites), whereas seedlings in metal-contaminated soil demonstrated delayed budburst. These results allow to attribute advanced budburst phenology of white birch in severely polluted sites to modified microclimate, rather than to pollution impact on plant physiology or genetics.
authors.affiliation: Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. mikoz@utu.fi
authors.forename: Mikhail V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Kozlov
authors.forename: Janne K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Eränen
authors.forename: Vitali E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Zverev
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000633:toxicity; D029662:Betula / Q000254:growth & development*; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D004463:Ecology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008669:Metallurgy; D009532:Nickel / Q000633:toxicity; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007220:Industrial Waste; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel; D000535:Aluminum