Changes in Physiological and Agronomical Parameters of Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Exposed to Cerium and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles.

The aims of our experiment were to evaluate the uptake and translocation of cerium and titanium oxide nanoparticles and to verify their effects on the growth cycle of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Barley plants were grown to physiological maturity in soil enriched with either 0, 500 or 1000 mg · kg(-1) cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2) or titanium oxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) and their combination. The growth cycle of nCeO2 and nTiO2 treated plants was about 10 days longer than the controls. In nCeO2 treated plants the number of tillers, leaf area and the number of spikes per plant were reduced respectively by 35.5%, 28.3% and 30% (p ≤ 0.05). nTiO2 stimulated plant growth and compensated for the adverse effects of nCeO2. Concentrations of Ce and Ti in aboveground plant fractions were minute. The fate of nanomaterials within the plant tissues was different. Crystalline nTiO2 aggregates were detected within the leaf tissues of barley, whereas nCeO2 was not present in the form of nanoclusters.

Greater impact of extreme drought on photosynthesis of grasslands exposed to a warmer climate in spite of acclimation.

In view of the projected increase in the frequency of extreme events during this century, we investigated the impact of a drought extreme on leaf ecophysiological parameters and carbon isotope composition (delta(13)C) of grassland communities with species richness (S) of one, three or nine species. The communities, grown for 3 years at either ambient air temperatures (ambient T(air)) or ambient T(air) + 3 degrees C (elevated T(air)), were additionally subjected to an imposed drought by withholding water for 24 days. During the previous 3 years equal precipitation was applied in both temperature treatments, thus communities at elevated T(air) had experienced more frequent, mild droughts. However, it was unknown whether this resulted in a higher resistance for facing extreme droughts. At similar soil matric potentials stomatal conductance (g(s)) and transpiration (Tr) were higher at elevated than ambient T(air), indicating acclimation to lower soil water content. Despite the stomatal acclimation observed, plants in elevated T(air) showed a lower resistance to the drought extreme as indicated by their lower photosynthetic rate (A(max)), g(s) and Tr during the entire duration of the drought extreme. Lower values for A(max), Tr and g(s) were also recorded in species at S = 3 as compared with species at S = 1 for both temperature treatments, but no further differences with S = 9 suggesting that stress was not alleviated at higher S-levels. The discrimination of (13)C was poorly correlated with measurements of instantaneous leaf water-use efficiency (A(max)/Tr) and, with this time scale and sampling method, it was not possible to detect any potential change in plant water-use efficiency using leaf delta(13)C.