Experimental Studies on the Effects of Black Carbon Particles on Forest Tree Species

Abstract

Since the 1990s, trans-boundary air pollution induced by aerosols such as black carbon particles has been one of several serious environmental problems in East Asia. However, there is very limited information on the effects of aerosols on forest tree species. In this review paper, we survey the chemical and physical effects of aerosols such as dust on plants based on results from previous field surveys and experimental studies, and give an outline of our experimental study on the effects of submicron-sized black carbon particles on the growth, foliar gas exchange rates, and amounts of particle deposition on the foliar surface of four Japanese forest tree species and its species difference.