[Effects of elevated O3 concentration on anti-oxidative enzyme activities in Pinus tabulaeformis]

An open-top chamber experiment was conducted to study the effects of high concentration O3 (80 nmol x mol(-1)) on the superoxide anion radical (O2*-) generation rate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and glutathione reductase (GR), and ascorbic acid content in Pinus tabulaeformis leaves. Under high concentration O3 exposure, the superoxide anion radical generation rate and H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased, while the ascorbic acid content and the activities of SOD, APX, DHAR, MDHAR, and GR increased in early growth season but decreased then to a level lower than the control, which illustrated that the antioxidant system of P. tabulaeformis did respond in an acclimation way in the early growth season, but could not bear the damage of long-term elevated O3 exposure.