Aluminum toxicity in forests exposed to acidic deposition: The ALBIOS results

The ALBIOS project was conducted to examine the influence of acidic deposition on aluminum transport and toxicity in forested ecosystems of eastern North America and northern Europe. Patterns of aluminum chemistry were evaluated in 14 representative watersheds exposed to different levels of sulfur deposition. Controlled studies with solution and soil culture methods were used to test interspecific differences in aluminum sensitivity for one indicator species (honeylocust - Gleditsia triacanthos L. ) and six commercial tree species (red spruce - Picea rubens Sarg., red oak - Quercus rubra L., sugar maple - Acer saccharum Marsh., American beech - Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., European beech - Fagus sylvatica, and loblolly pine - Pinus Taeda L. ). Overall, red spruce was the tree species whose growth was most sensitive to soluble aluminum, with significant biomass reductions occurring at Al concentrations of approximately 200–250 umol/L. Analyses of soil solutions from the field sites indicated that the conditions for aluminum toxicity for some species exist at some of the study areas. At these watersheds, aluminum toxicity could act as a contributing stress factor affecting forest growth.     

铝对植物的毒害和植物抗铝毒机理及其影响因素

本文综述了土壤中铝的存在形式、铝对植物产生的毒害、植物抗铝毒的内、外部机理以及铝毒效应的影响因子 .从植物抗铝毒遗传特性的差异出发 ,探讨利用抗铝毒作物基因型 ,提高酸性土壤上的作物生产力 .最后就植物抗铝毒研究提出一些看法     

Liming acid streams: Aluminium toxicity to fish in mixing zones

Liming to neutralize acidic surface waters involves a possible risk of toxicity to fish due to precipitation or changes in speciation of Al. We report the response of captive brown trout to the experimental liming of an acid stream rich in Al. Within 15 m of lime dosing 0.22 µm filterable Al fell from 580 to 230 µg L^?1, and to 120 jig L^?1, within 30 m, though total Al was unchanged. After 24 hr, fish mortality was 100% at untreated acidic sites, 80% up to 30 m downstream of liming, declining to zero within 100 m. Mortality was 70% at 15 m below the confluence of an acidic tributary with the limed stream, despite little change in pH or total Al concentration. Mortalities were significantly correlated with concentrations of Al and Fe in gill tissues, and with 0.22 µm filterable Al and Fe in the water, but not with particulate Al or Fe. AI(OH)₄ ^?, precipitating A1 or polymeric hydrolysis products are all possible causes of the observed toxicity. Iron may have also have contributed, but the stream concentrations of this metal were relatively low. The practical conclusion is that changes in Al chemistry, where waters of differing acidity mix, may be important in some circumstances where river systems are limed selectively.     

Aluminum toxicity in plants grown in solution culture

Abstract

Earlirose rice (Oryza sativa L. ) and Hawkeye soybeans (Glycine max L.) were grown in solution culture with A1₂(SO₄)₃ in concentrations of 0, 10^‐6, 10^‐5, 10^‐4, 10^‐3 M. Only at 10^‐4 (slightly) and at 10^‐3 M were there yield depressions due to Al. The threshold concentration of Al for toxicity was about 20 μg/g in rice shoots and about 30 μg/g in soybean leaves. The solution level necessary for these concentrations was 8 μg Al/ml. Plant concentrations which caused severe toxicity were 70 μg Al/g plant with 81 μg Al/ml solution. Most Al remained in roots, but leaves contained more than did stems of soybeans. The high Al decreased Fe, Cu, and Mn concentrations in shoots of rice and decreased Fe, Cu, and Zn in roots of rice. The high Al resulted in decreased Fe and Zn in leaves of soybeans. No Fe deficiency symptoms were present due to the high Al.     

小麦的铝毒及耐性

为探明Al的毒性和忍耐机理 ,比较了Scout 66和Atlas 66Al敏感和抗性的 2个小麦品种的根对Al的积累模式、根细胞壁对Al的吸附以及Al诱导的有机酸的分泌。结果表明 ,Al对Scout 6 6根伸长的抑制作用较Atlas 66明显。根系吸收的Al主要积累于 0至 5mm根尖处。Scout 6 6的根尖及Al处理后分离的根尖细胞壁对Al的积累量大于Atlas 6 6。但是 ,Al处理前分离根尖细胞壁 ,Al处理后细胞壁对Al的吸附量两品种间无显著差异。Al可诱导Atlas 6 6的根系分泌苹果酸 ,而Scout 6 6的分泌物中未发现Al诱导的有机酸。这些结果表明 ,Atlas 6 6的根尖及其细胞壁较Scout 66积累较少的Al,这种差异与Al诱导的有机酸分泌有关 ,而与根尖细胞壁固有的吸附Al的能力无关     

Liming acidic waters in Norway: National policy and research and development

Since 1983, the Norwegian environmental authorities have given financial support to operational liming and research following recommendation given by the Norwegian Liming Project (1979–1984). Liming all acid waters in Norway would require an annual expenditure exceeding NOK (Norwegian Kroner) 300 × 10⁶. The funding level for 1988 is NOK 14 × 10⁶ and will probably increase to NOK 30 mill. by 1990, including NOK 1 to 3 mill. for research and development. Priority is given to lakes and rivers whose fishing is open to the public, and to save or restore valuable fish populations. Local support in the form of voluntary labor is a condition for financial aid. Two salmon rivers are currently included in the program. T h e Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) plays an important role in liming research and development in Norway. The aims of this research are twofold: to document the chemical and biological response to neutralization and liming, and to improve liming strategy to obtain cost efficient liming activities.     

Cooperative federal-state liming research on surface waters impacted by acidic deposition

In the eastern and north-central United States, lakes and streams with low acid neutralizing capacity are at risk from acidity. Resource management agencies are interested in developing mitigation strategies that protect or restore fisheries in these waters. Addition of limestone (calcium carbonate) to improve water quality and prevent episodic depressions of pH during precipitation events and spring runoff is one mitigation technique being used. The ecological changes that accompany such treatment of streams and lakes are being investigated in a cooperative program between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and individual states. Streams in Massachusetts, West Virginia and Tennessee, and a lake in Minnesota are included in this 5-yr research program. Intensive monitoring during pre- and post-liming tracks a suite of physical, chemical and biological parameters that influence the re-establishment or maintenance of healthy fisheries. Supporting studies on liming being conducted at Adirondack lakes in New York focus on fisheries management. A model on the influence of liming on light attenuation and thermal stratification is also being developed. Management guidelines are to be generated from the program results.     

Aluminum tolerance of segregating wheat populations in acidic soil and nutrient solutions

Abstract

Increased demand for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars tolerant to acid‐soil stress has accelerated genetic research on aluminum (Al) tolerance in soil and solution media. Our objective was to characterize the genetic segregation of tolerant and susceptible plants from two populations in an Al‐toxic Porters soil (coarse‐loamy, mixed, mesic Umbric Dystrochrepts), and in nutrient solutions with 0.09, 0.18, 0.36, 0.72, and 0.90 mM Al. Rapid bioassays were applied to determine seedling responses of two Al‐tolerant (Cardinal and Becker) and two susceptible cultivars (GK Zombor and GK Kincso) and their F₂ progenies. In the Al‐toxic soil, Becker/Kincso F₂ and Cardinal/Zombor F₂ exhibited contrasting segregation patterns but with similar heritability values (0.60 and 0.57, respectively). Higher values of root length in soil were dominant in Cardinal/Zombor F₂ (degree of dominance, d = 0.98), but dominance was absent (d = 0.07) for Becker/Kincso F₂. The results of the soil and nutrient‐solution experiments were not entirely consistent; gene expression appeared to be influenced by the concentration of Al in the nutrient solution. The frequency of susceptible F₂ plants increased proportionately to the increase in Al concentration for both populations. This unexpected pattern provides further evidence that segregation in wheat populations cannot always be explained by single‐gene inheritance.     

Aluminum toxicity in corn at near neutral soil pH levels

Aluminum toxicity to plants is often responsible for yield reductions under acid soil conditions. Despite the fact that Al becomes insoluble in the slightly acid to neutral pH range, there are indications that it can still be taken up and become toxic to plants. Corn plants were grown in the greenhouse on three highly weathered soils (Oxisol and Ultisols) containing substantial quantities of exchangeable Al. The soils were limed at various rates up to pH values near or above neutrality. On all soils a positive yield response to lime occurred at low pH values while on two of the soils, yields decreased significantly as the pH approached neutrality. Yield and Al content of the tissue were exponentially related irrespective of the level of phosphate applied (r² = 0.34 and 0.71). The mechanism by which Al becomes increasingly available to the plant as the pH approaches neutrality is not clear and needs further investigation. Strong Al‐Mg and Al‐P antagonisms occur at the high and low pH values. The existance of Al toxicity at near‐neutral pH values can be invoked to explain many of the anomolous results reported in the literature concerning yield depressions previously ascribed a posteriori to such factors as micro‐element or P deficiencies.     

杀毙灵对三种鱼苗急性毒性试验的初步探讨

在室内常温、静水条件下 ,采用换水生物试验法 ,以杀毙灵对巴西鲷、建鲤、白鲢三种鱼苗进行急性毒性试验。结果表明 :杀毙灵对巴西鲷、建鲤、白鲢的安全浓度 ( m L/m3)分别为 0 .0 0 2 6、0 .0 0 36、0 .0 0 4 4。96h鱼苗对杀毙灵的耐受能力为 :白鲢 >建鲤 >巴西鲷。     

Aluminum speciation in running waters on the Canadian pre-Cambrian Shield: Kinetic aspects

To evaluate the extent to which chemical disequilibrium may exist in stream waters following naturally occurring short-term pH changes, surface water samples were collected from two streams in the Lake Laflamme watershed north of Quebec City, placed in large polyethylene containers and stirred continuously at the in situ temperature; changes in Al speciation were followed with time for up to 24 hr. The original samples were collected during the spring snow-melt period and during summer low flows. In this latter case, a pH depression was induced by artificial acidification (H₂SO₄; pH 4) and changes in Al speciation with time were followed in both the acidified and the unacidified samples. Aluminum speciation as operationally defined did respond to artificial acidification (pH lowered; non-exchangeable and non-extractable Al decreased), and these pH-induced changes occurred rapidly (< 4 hr). During storage of natural water samples at in situ T for up to 24 hr, little change in Al speciation was noted, even in the case of samples collected during spring snow-melt; no clear cases of chemical disequilibrium existed among the studied samples. The distribution of Al among its various physico-chemical forms thus appears to be established within the stream itself; at a given stream sampling point the speciation of A1 will not necessarily reflect its geochemical origins, but rather the prevailing in situ conditions (e.g. pH, ligand concentrations).     

Partitioning of lead in pristine and runoff-impacted waters from acidic wetlands in the New Jersey Pinelands

We have examined the roles of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and pH in determining patterns of Pb fractionation in surface water from Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in undisturbed and urbanized watersheds of the Pinelands of New Jersey. In undisturbed wetlands, the water is highly acidic (pH 3.5) and has high concentrations of DOC; wetlands receiving urban runoff are less acidic and have lower concentrations of DOC. The effects of PH were separated from the effects of DOC by experimentally raising the pH of water from the undisturbed site to 6.0. A separation procedure was compiled from the literature to separate the soluble Pb fraction into labile (exchangeable on ion-exchange resin) and non-labile fractions, and the latter fraction was further separated into photo-oxidation-sensitive and insensitive fractions. In low pH, high DOC waters, 95% of added PbCl₂ remained soluble, and 56 to 80% of this Pb was labile (varying with contact time with the resin). In high-pH swamp waters, a smaller fraction (64 to 71%) remained soluble; the distribution of the soluble Pb among non-labile forms varied with the source of the water. Pb fractionation in runoff was quite different from that in runoff-impacted swamp water at the same pH, and may reflect differences in DOC and/or higher levels of Fe in the runoff.     

Differentiation of physical from chemical toxicity in solid waste fish bioassays

This study showed that particulate (i.e., physical) toxicity was responsible for rainbow trout deaths in bioassays with two separate solid wastes. This conclusion was based on: (1) fish necropsies which indicated physical damage to gills but no evidence of chemical damage to liver or kidney, (2) chemical analyses which indicated that levels of Priority Pollutants and other target compounds were too low to cause the observed toxicity, (3) structural and chemical analyses of the waste particles which showed that these consisted of inert materials, and (4) the use of centrifugation techniques to remove most of the suspended particulate material in bioassay tanks resulting in an elimination of most of the toxicity. The particles associated with the lethal effects were approximately 5 to 10 μm in size. Regulatory testing of solid wastes must distinguish physical and chemical toxicity since disposal options can vary depending on the mode of toxicity. For instance, chemical toxicity raises concern regarding leaching through soils into groundwater, whereas if physical particles are responsible for toxicity, such leaching is not of concern.     

Increased mortality of fish due to changing Al-chemistry of mixing zones between limed streams and acidic tributaries

The present study is mainly focusing on mortality variations of fish due to changing Alchemistry of mixing zones. An artificial mixing zone was made by pumping water from a limed stream and an acidic tributary into a mixing channel. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) parr were exposed to the mixed water, limed stream water, and acidic tributary water. Mortality, blood haematocrit and plasma Cl^?-concentration were recorded. Neither mortality, nor changes in haematocrit and plasma Cl^? were observed when fish were exposed to limed water, while in both acidic and mixed water, mortalities and loss of plasma Cl^? were observed. The highest mortality rates were found within the initial part (0 to 20 s) of the mixing zone. Blood haematocrit increased only in fish exposed to acidic tributary water. Our results shows that changes in Al-chemistry and subsequent Al-polymerization occur when acidic tributary water is mixed with limed stream water. We have also demonstrated that the toxicity which can arise in mixing zones are greater than in the original acidic water before mixing. The variations in mortality observed are associated with the quality and quantity of Al-polymerization as well as ageing of the polymers.     

Aluminum toxicity in tomato. Part 1. growth and mineral nutrition

Aluminum (Al) toxicity was studied in two tomato cultivars (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. ‘Mountain Pride’ and Floramerica') grown in diluted nutrient solution (pH 4.0) at 0, 10, 25, and 50 μM Al levels. In the presence of 25 and 50 μM Al, significant reduction was found in leaf area, dry weight, stem length, and longest root length of both cultivars. Growth of ‘Floramerica’ was less sensitive to Al toxicity than growth of ‘Mountain Pride’. Elemental composition of the nutrient solutions were compared immediately after the first Al addition and four days later. The uptake of micronutrients copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn), boron (B), and iron (Fe) from the nutrient solution was reduced in both cultivars with increasing Al levels. Nutrient solution Al gradually decreased in time for every treatment; less in cultures of ‘Floramerica’ than in ‘Mountain Pride’. Aluminum treatments decreased the calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), Mn, Fe, and Zn content in the roots, stems, and leaves. Aluminum treatment promoted the accumulation of P, Mo, and Cu in the roots, and inhibited the transport of these nutrients into stems and leaves. At 25 and 50 μM levels of Al, lower Al content was found in the roots of cv. “Floramerica’ than in the roots of cv. ‘Mountain Pride’.     

Aluminum toxicity in maize: Biomass production and nutrient uptake and translocation

The effect of increasing aluminum (Al) concentrations on root nutrient contents along with the concurrent translocation to the shoot of C₄ plants prompted this study. Two‐week‐old maize (Zea mays cv XL‐72.3) plants were therefore submitted for 20 days to Al concentrations ranging from 0 to 3.00 mM in a medium with low ionic strength were used as a test system. Aluminum concentrations in root tissues showed a 3‐fold increase between 0 and 3.00 mM Al treatment, and was not detected in the shoot. Root plasma membrane‐H⁺ ATPase activity decreased after the 0.33 mg L^‐1 Al treatment, while membrane permeability increased up to 1.00 mM Al treatment. Root and shoot biomass decreased after the 0.33 mM Al treatment. All elements in the roots, except potassium (K), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) were highest for plants treated with 0.33 mM Al. Potassium increased continuously between 0 and 3.00 mM Al treatments, and iron (Fe) decreased above 0.33 mM. Only a slight decrease in nitrogen (N) was observed. All the measured nutrients in shoots, except N, Mn, and Fe decreased above 0.33 mM, but calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) had little variation as Al varied. Data indicated that maximum net uptake for mineral nutrients, except Mn, occurred up to 0.33 mM Al. Translocation of phosphorus (P), K, Mn, and Zn decreased above 0.33 mM Al, N, and Ca decreased when any Al was added, and no clear trend was observed for Mg and Fe. Between the 0 and the 3.00 mM Al treatments, electrolytic conductance did not increased significantly indicating that the observed inhibitions of translocation from roots to shoots were not directly related to increasing membrane degradation.     

Aluminum toxicity of the rice plant under water culture conditions

Aluminum has been reported as the active factor of acid soils which is deleterious to plant growth (3, 4, 6, 7). Aluminum in the soil becomes more soluble at low pH and a high concentration of aluminum in the soil solution may be toxic to plants.     

Possible mechanisms of aluminum toxicity in a dilute,acidic environment to fingerlings and older life stages of salmonids

The respiratory, acid-base, and ionoregulatory responses of juvenile rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were monitored during exposure of the fish in the laboratory to inorganic Al (2.8 μM) over the pH range 4.0 to 6.5. Responses to Al were most severe at pH 6.1 and 4.5, mortality being primarily due to asphyxia at pH 6.1 and to electrolyte loss at pH 4.5. Competition between the H⁺-ion and Al for binding at the gill surface is offered as an explanation for the decreased toxicity of Al at pH 4.0, one which is compatible with the free-ion toxicity model that has been developed for other metals. The physiologically distinct response of S. gairdneri to Al at pH 6.1 is less amenable to unambiguous interpretation. If a mixed ligand hydroxo-Al complex is incorporated in the free-ion model, and if it is assumed that the two Al species, [Al-L-gill] and [HO-Al-L-gill], provoke distinct toxicological responses, then a bimodal toxicological response to Al is indeed predicted. An alternative explanation of the apparent toxic action of Al at pH 6.1, i.e., at pH values close to that of minimum Al solubility, is the precipitation of solid Al(OH)₃ at the gill surface, i.e., a ‘physical’ effect rather than a biochemical one.