PHYTOL AS A POSSIBLE INDICATOR OF OZONE STRESS BY PICEA-ABIES

This work is based on a project where the effect of ozone (<10, 200 or 400 mu g/m(3)) on hexane-soluble components of Picea abies needles wa s investigated (Ogner (1993) Environ. Pollut., 82, 223-9). The trees r epresenting six clones of Picea abies were fumigated in open-top chamb ers at two locations in Norway, Aas and Bergen, for one growth season. The gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis sh owed that the concentrations of four of the compounds from the hexane extract changed with ozone dose in a way that made them promising as i ndicators. However, at that time no identification of the compounds wa s made. The same ozone treated plant material was utilized in this stu dy and one of the compounds, analysed by gas chromatography-mass spect rometry (GC-MS), was identified as phytol. The remaining indicators we re not identified due to either poorly separated peaks or too low a co ncentration.