Aspects of Ecotoxicology of Sulphur in the Harz Region - a Guided Excursion

Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science Ewald Schnug Wilfried H. O. Ernst Sylvia Kratz Friedhart Knolle Silvia Haneklaus Aspects of ecotoxicology of sulphur in the Harz region - a guided excursion Published in: Landbauforschung Völkenrode 54(2004)3:129-143 Braunschweig Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) 2004 E. Schnug, W.H.O. Ernst, S. Kratz, F. Knolle and S. Haneklaus / Landbauforschung Völkenrode 3/2004 (54):129-143 129 Aspects of ecotoxicology of sulphur in the Harz region – a guided excursion Ewald Schnug1, Wilfried H.O. Ernst2, Sylvia Kratz1, Friedhart Knolle3 and Silvia Haneklaus1 Abstract Zusammenfassung Sulphur has become a major limiting factor for plant Aspekte der Ökotoxikologie von Schwefel in der Harz production during the last decades. In its initial stages, an region – eine geführte Exkursion insufficient S supply can only be detected by quantifica tion of S in plant tissue with chemical methods. Severe S In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist Schwefel (S) zu einem der deficiency, however, can be identified by visual symp wichtigsten limitierenden Faktoren für die Pflanzenpro toms. An excursion to the Harz Mountains region not only duktion geworden. Eine unzureichende Schwefelversor provides the opportunity to study various visual symp gung lässt sich im Anfangsstadium nur über die Quantifi toms of S deficiency in the field, but also provides insight zierung der S-Konzentration im Pflanzengewebe mit Hilfe into aspects of the ecotoxicology of sulphur. Oilseed rape chemischer Methoden feststellen. Starker S-Mangel ist fields around Silstedt and Ilsenburg display a variety of jedoch anhand visueller Symptome erkennbar. Eine typical symptoms of S deficiency such as chlorosis start Exkursion in die Harzregion gibt Gelegenheit, nicht nur ing from the leaves’edge and spreading over into inter verschiedene visuelle S-Mangelsymptome im Feld zu stu costal areas, reddish purple colouring due to the enrich dieren, sondern bietet auch einen Einblick in ökotoxikolo ment of anthocyanins, spoonlike deformations of leaves, gische Aspekte des Schwefels. Rapsfelder in der Umge succulence of leaves, reduced petal size or white bloom bung von Silstedt und Ilsenburg zeigen eine Vielfalt typi ing. S deficiency also affects yield structure, which is scher S-Mangelsymptome wie an den Blatträndern anset revealed in a reduced number of seeds per pod. Decreas zende, sich interkostal ausbreitende Chlorosen, rötliche ing concentrations of airborne sulphur over the past few bis lila Blattfärbung durch Anthocyane, löffelförmige decades may have an impact on the composition of plant Blattdeformationen, Blattsukkulenz, reduzierte Größe der communities, which is displayed by epiphytic lichen com Blütenblätter und weiße Blüten. S-Mangel beeinflusst munities near the Kästeklippen at Romkerhall. On the auch die Ertragsstruktur, was sich bei Raps vor allem in other hand, a surplus of sulphur may impair plant per einer reduzierten Samenzahl in den Schoten niederschlägt. formance, too. An example for this can be studied on Die in den vergangenen Jahren abnehmende S-Konzentra- mosses growing in bogs in the High Harz Mountains. A tion in der Luft hat auch Auswirkungen auf die soil of calcium-sulphate origin may also give rise to the Zusammensetzung von Pflanzengemeinschaften, wie epi development of a specialised plant community, with plant phytische Flechtengesellschaften in der Nähe der Käste specimens being able to store up to three times the amount klippen bei Romkerhall verdeutlichen. Andererseits kann of sulphur in their leaves compared to specimens growing sich auch ein Überschuss an Schwefel nachteilig auf on calcium carbonate soils. Plant communities on gypsum Pflanzen auswirken. Ein Beispiel hierfür bieten Moose, soils can be seen in the Hainholz near Hörden. A geogenic die in Mooren des Hochharzes wachsen. Ein auf Calcium source of sulphur exists at Rhumspringe at the southern sulfat gewachsener Boden kann zur Herausbildung spezi Harz rim, where the Rhume karst spring delivers up to alisierter Pflanzengesellschaften mit Individuen führen, 5500 L of sulphur enriched water per second after high die bis zu dreimal so viel Schwefel in ihren Blättern spei precipitation. The total annual discharge amounts to 7092 chern wie Vertreter der gleichen Art, welche auf Calcium t S. carbonatböden wachsen. Pflanzengesellschaften auf Gips böden sind zum Beispiel “im Hainholz” bei Hörden zu Key words: Harz, sulphur deficiency, sulphur surplus, finden. In Rhumspringe am südlichen Harzrand ist oilseed rape, epiphytic lichens, Torfhaus bog, gypsiferous schließlich eine geogene Schwefelquelle zu sehen. Hier vegetation fördert die Rhume-Karstquelle nach starken Niederschlä gen bis zu 5500 L mit S angereichertes Wasser pro Sekun de zu Tage, insgesamt 7092 t S kommen so im Jahr an die Oberfläche. 1 Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Federal Agricultural Research Center (FAL), Bundesallee 50, D-38116 Braunschweig/Ger- Schlüsselwörter: Harz, Schwefelmangel, Schwefelüber many; e-mail: [email protected] schuss, Raps, epiphytische Flechten, Torfhausmoor, Vege 2 Institute of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De tation auf Gipsböden Bolelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam/The Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected] 3 Harz National Park, Oderhaus 1, D-37444 Sankt Andreasberg/Ger- many; e-mail: [email protected] 130 Introduction4 nutrients into ecosystems outside agriculture (Kluge and Embert, 1996) needs to be based on a proper diagnosis of In the past, the Harz region was characterized by the S nutritional status. extremely high atmospheric SO2 concentrations. This was Plants can be assessed for their nutritional status visual because, in addition to ubiquitous atmospheric SO2 loads ly or by means of chemical tissue analysis. Visual diagno from industrial burning processes and exhaust fumes from sis of plants primarily allows the identification of symp motorized traffic, the atmosphere was further enriched toms of severe nutrient deficiency caused by physiologi with sulphur emissions from ore processing. The situation cal disorders, and altered or damaged tissues. A lack of changed over the last few decades due to desulphurisation nutrients without producing deficiency symptoms, but of exhaust gases and the use of fuel with reduced S con already limiting growth and yield, requires the quantifica tents. Thus, atmospheric sulphur input into soils was tion of nutrients in tissues by means of chemical methods. reduced by as much as a factor of 10 over the last 25 years. With decreasing atmospheric inputs (Daemmgen et al., 1 Sulphur deficiency in oilseed rape – visual symptoms 1997) and the shift towards low or no sulphur (S) con taining sources for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) (Cec Literature describes symptoms of S deficiency as being cotti et al., 1997), S has become a major limiting factor for less specific and more difficult to identify than other nutri plant production in industrialised as well as remote rural ent deficiency symptoms (Bergmann, 1992 & 1993; areas. But although today there are only a few places left Chapman, 1966; Robson and Snowball, 1986; Saalbach, where the average S input from atmospheric and fertilis 1970b). In a perfect diagnostic system, visual diagnosis er sources satisfies the demand of crops, not all sites with must always come together either with soil or with plant a negative S balance show S deficiency symptoms, and analysis (Bennett, 1993). crop response to S fertilisation is not universal. This is In contrast to most other agricultural crops, Brassica because S is a geogenic abundant element (Clark, 1979) species such as oilseed rape develop a very distinctive compared for instance to nitrogen, the origin of which in expression of symptoms. A visit to the north-eastern part agro-ecosystems is predominantly anthropogenic. Vast of the Harz area (Silstedt, 51°52’N, 10°51’E and Ilsen amounts of S are bound in minerals (e.g. gypsum and burg, 51°52’N, 10°41’E, see Figure 1) gives the opportu pyrite) and delivered to the surface by ground water. The nity to study fields of Brassica napus and the weedy Rhume spring (see chapter 4.2) in the Harz mountain area Capsella bursa-pastoris with symptoms of sulphur defi in Northern Germany (51°35’N, 10°17’E), for example, ciency. delivers 7092 t T of S in the form of gypsum each year (Herrmann, 1969), which is twice the amount of S sold in 1.1 Macroscopic symptoms in single plants the whole country as potassium-sulphate fertilisers today, and theoretically enough to fertilise 10 % of all oilseed In oilseed rape, the total S concentration in tissue corre rape cropped in Germany with S. But also sites without sponding to the first appearance of deficiency symptoms access to mineral bound S sources may have sufficient S is about 3.5 mg g-1 S. The symptoms are very specific and dissolved in soil water and shallow groundwater bodies thus are a reliable guide towards S deficiency. There is no available to plant roots (Eriksen et al., 1997;, Bloem et al., difference in the symptomatology of S deficiency in vari 1997,; Duyniveld et al., 1993). This is because soil water eties containing high or low amounts of glucosinolate and shallow groundwater have much higher sulphate con (= S-containing secondary metabolite of Brassica species, centrations than precipitation water, which is due to natu which is responsible for the high S demand of oilseed ral S sources in the ground or due to the charging by rape) (Schnug, 1988). Even at very

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