The plant cuticle as an interface between leaves and air-borne pollutants
Résumé
Material deposited on leaf surfaces may be taken up into the interior either by the stomata! or the cuticular pathway. The uptake of non-volatile substances is restricted to the penetration of the cuticle. The objective of the collaborative work reported here was to characterise important aspects of the interactions between air-borne pollutants and the cuticle of trees. The amounts and composition of the cuticular waxes of the needles of Picea abies and the leaves of Fagus sylvatica were investigated with special attention to the effects of age and environmental factors. The transport properties of plant cuticles were studied using a variety of techniques covering uptake into intact needles, permeability of isolated cuticular membranes and the mobility of permeants in reconstituted cuticular waxes. Effects of polluted sea-spray on the needle surfaces of conifers growing close to the Mediterranean Sea were also investigated.
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