Solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–315 nm) in the Southern Hemisphere has been increasing over the last few decades due to seasonal stratospheric ozone depletion associated with the ‘ozone hole’ and a more general erosion of the stratospheric ozone layer. We studied the effect of UV-B radiation on growth responses of Carex curta and C. decidua, the two most dominant sedges in a fen ecosys...

Ultraviolet B (UV-B) acclimation comprises complex and poorly understood changes in plant metabolism. The effects of chronic and ecologically relevant UV-B dose rates on Arabidopsis thaliana were determined. The UV-B acclimation process was studied by measuring radiation effects on morphology, physiology, biochemistry and gene expression. Chronic UV-B radiation did not affect photosynthesis or ...

Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280-320 nm) has important effects in urban areas, including those on human health. Broadband UV-B radiation is monitored in Baltimore, MD, as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a long-term ecological research program. We compare broadband UV-B irradiance in Baltimore with UV-B at two nearby locations: a more rural station 64 km southeast and a suburban station...

The effects of moderate salinity on the responses of woody plants to UV-B radiation were investigated using two Populus species (Populus alba and Populus russkii). Under UV-B radiation, moderate salinity reduced the oxidation pressure in both species, as indicated by lower levels of cellular H2O2 and membrane peroxidation, and weakened the inhibition of photochemical efficiency expressed by O-J...

We examined UV-B radiation flux and its environmental control within and among streams of northern Michigan. UV-B flux was estimated in streams by plastic dosimetry strips, which allow for the simultaneous and repeated in situ measurement of solar radiation. During the summer of 2004, UV-B flux was measured across depth gradients and along longitudinal transects in seven streams, which were cho...

Absorption of UV-B by DNA induces the formation of covalent bonds between adjacent pyrimidines. In maize and arabidopsis, plants deficient in chromatin remodeling show increased DNA damage compared to WT plants after a UV-B treatment. However, the role of enzymes that participate in DNA methylation in DNA repair after UV-B damage was not previously investigated. In this work, we analyzed how ch...

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation and nitrogen are expected to increase simultaneously with future changes in global climate. In this study, growth and photosynthetic responses of Picea asperata seedlings to enhanced UV-B and to nitrogen supply were studied. The experimental design included two levels of UV-B treatments (ambient UV-B, 11.02 kJ m-2 d-1; enhanced UV-B, 14.33 kJ m-2 d-1) and two nitr...

UV-B radiation (280-315 nm) incident on the leafy liverwort Cephaloziella varians growing at Rothera Point on the Western Antarctic Peninsula was manipulated in late austral spring 1998 by screens consisting of a novel combination of plexiglass panes and polyester sheets. The screens transmitted c. 79%, 68%, 48%, 41% and 31% of daily UV-B radiation dose. Plants from under and outside the screen...

The UV-B spectral band (280–315 nm) contributes less than 2% of the short-wave photons received by terrestrial organisms in most natural environments. Concerns about potential impacts of stratospheric ozone depletion contributed to spark interest in studies of plant responses to enhanced UV-B levels during the last two decades (Caldwell et al., 2003). In connection with this research, two relat...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Anthropogenic depletion of stratospheric ozone in Arctic latitudes has resulted in an increase of ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) reaching the biosphere. UV-B exposure is known to reduce above-ground biomass and plant height, to increase DNA damage and cause accumulation of UV-absorbing compounds in polar plants. However, many studies on Arctic mosses tended to be inconclusiv...