Soil contamination and air pollution are currently two of global environmental problems that threat human health and terrestrial ecosystem.
Soil contamination and air pollution are currently two of global environmental problems that threat human health and terrestrial ecosystem. The increasing of heavy metal concentrations in soil and atmospheric ozone (O3) concentrations at ground level have been widely concerned with the accelerated industrialization and urbanization of China, particularly in the cities with old industrial bases.
As one of the most toxic environmental pollutants, cadmium (Cd) has a strong influence on metabolic activities of trees by inducing a number of physiological changes.
In China, there are more than 7.0 million hm2 of poplar tree plantation, ranking top one in the world. They were often used for phytoremediation of polluted soils because of their fast growth, large biomass and deep root system.
Many researches were reported about the single effects of Cd or O3 stress on physiological and biochemical metabolisms of poplar species. However, little information is known about the combined effects and their interactive mechanisms of O3 and heavy metal on growth and physiological metabolism of tree species.
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