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Effect of Sulfur Dioxide on Algae¹

ABSTRACT

Photosynthetic activity in soil of pH 7.1 was unaffected by a 10-day exposure to 0.5 ppm sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in air. However, the photosynthetic activity of Anabaena flos-aquae and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii suspended in a thin layer of medium at an initial pH of 6.0 was almost totally inhibited within 24 hours by treatment with 1.0 ppm SO₂ in air. The pH of the medium decreased to 5.2 or below during this period. If the decrease in pH was prevented by the addition of soil or phosphate buffer, no inhibition of photosynthesis was observed. In contrast, addition of an acidic soil to a medium of pH 4.9 offered no protection from the adverse effects of SO₂. The data indicate that the decrease in pH of samples exposed to SO₂ was not the sole cause of the inhibition of photosynthetic activity.

Key Words: air pollution • photosynthesis

¹ Contribution from the Lab. of Soil Microbiol., Dep. of Agron., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853. The research was supported by Grant no. R-803691 from the U.S. Environ. Prot. Agency. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Environ. Prot. Agency.

² Former Visiting Associate Professor and Professor of Soil Sci., respectively. Present address of senior author is Biology Dep., Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850.

Received for publication October 15, 1977.