TheEffectsofAcidRainonSpringWheat

HaleyGunderson,RachelKemnitz,MaddieMuntean,JulisaRicart

Abstract
Aspollutionlevelsrisearoundtheworld,acidrainhasbecomeanincreasingconcern.Purerain
isslightlyacidicwithapHof5.0to6.0,butanyrainwithapHoflessthan5.0isconsideredto
beacidrain.Toseehowacidrainaffectsterrestrialsystems,weusedspringwheatasamodel
speciesandrecordedhowplantheight,leafnumber,andbiomasschangedduetodifferingpHs
ofwater.Wefoundthattherewasnodifferencebetweenthedifferingacidraintreatmentgroups
andthecontrolgroup.Thisresultispromisingforthefutureofagriculturearoundtheworldand
reinforcespaststudieswhichhaveshownthatsomeplantsaremorehardyandresistanttoacid
rainthanonewouldnormallyexpectbasedupontheiridealgrowingconditions.

Introduction
Asthehumanpopulationgrows,increasinglymorepollutantsarebeingproduced.
Althoughsomecountrieshaveenvironmentalrestrictionsinplace,oftentheserestrictionsare
notenoughtocompensatefortheamountofpollutantsbeingcreated.Oneresultofincreased
pollutantsisrainacidification,whichcanbedetrimentaltomanyfacetsoftheenvironment.
Purerainisnaturallyslightlyacidicasaresultofcarbondioxideintheairdissolvingin
watertoproduceaweakcarbonicacidsolution(WisconsinDNR).Thisnaturalacidinrainand
snowispartlyresponsibleforthelong,slowweatheringofsoilandrocks.Rainthatis
uncontaminatedbypollutantshasapHof5.0to6.0.Acidrain,however,istheresultofsulfur
dioxideandnitrogenoxidesenteringtheatmosphere(WisconsinDNR).Thesetwopollutants
aremainlyproducedbyhumanactivities.Sulfurdioxideismostcommonlyproducedby
coalfiredpowerplantsandfactories.Nitrogenoxidesareproductsofmotorvehiclesand
offroadengines,homefurnaces,andcoalfiredpowerplantsandfactorieslikethepulpand

papermillsinWisconsin.TheWisconsinDepartmentofNaturalResourcesconsidersanyrain
withapHoflessthan5.0tobeacidrain(WisconsinDNR).
Toseehowacidrainaffectsterrestrialsystems,wechosetousespringwheatasa
modelspecies.Wechosethisplantbecauseitisacommonplantinthearea,itgrowsrelatively
quickly,anditdevelopsthrougharecognizablecycle.Afterseedlingemergence,leavesare
producedevery45days.Usualconditionsproduce3tillers,lateralshootsfromthebaseofthe
stem,inadditiontothemainshoot.Tillersthatproducemorethan3leavesandinitiatetheirown
rootsystemaremostlikelytosurvive(Simmonsetal.).
Wehypothesizethatspringwheatgrowthwillbesuppressedbyacidrain.Stomatal
conductanceandtheratesofphotosynthesisandtranspirationareallnegativelyaffectedby
acidrain(Dolatabadianetal.).Ithasbeenshownthatacidrainadditionallydamagesthecuticle,
therebypromotingwaterandnutrientloss(Hogan).Thesefactorsleadtostuntedgrowthand
decreasedbiomassinplants.Thereisnoevidencetosuggestthatacidrainsuppresses
germinationofspringwheatacidrainwithapHgreaterthan3.5didnotaffectgerminationof
soybeans,asimilartypeofplant(Liuetal.).However,sincegerminationisnormallyan
importantdeterminateoffuturegrowth,wedecidedtotakegerminationoutoftheequationfor
ourstudybyusingwaterwithaneutralpHforthefirstweekbecauseourstudydidnotinclude
theeffectofacidrainongermination.
Duringourresearchwewondered:howdoesspringwheatrespondtowaterofdifferent
pHs?AndwhatistheidealpHrangeofwaterforspringwheat?Mostcropsgrowbestinasoil
pHofaround5.57.5,dependingonthespecificcrop(Perry).Ourstudyhasimportant
implicationsforthefutureofagriculture.IfthepHofrainandsoilcontinuetodecrease,apoint
maybereachedwhereplantsareunabletogrow,whichcouldcausemajorproblemsinfeeding
ourpopulation.

Methods
WeplantedthespringwheatonMarch8,2016intheUniversityofWisconsinMadison
BotanyGreenhouse.Weusedsterilizedsoilthatwasa50/50mixofcompostandtopsoil.It
includedProMixHPwithpeatmossandperlite,turfacewithcalcineclay,andextraperlite.We
planted5seedsineachpotandhad4potspertreatment.Wehad6treatmentsofacidrain,
withpHsof4.0,4.5,5.0,5.5,6.0,and7.0(Figure1).Wemadetheacidrainbyaddingsmall
amountsofvinegartolargejugsofreverseosmosisfilteredwater.WetestedthepH
qualitativelywithlitmuspHstrips.Forthewaterwith7.0acidity,wesimplyusedthewater
availableinthegreenhouseaftertestingtoensureitwasclosetoneutral.Wewateredthe
plantswithneutralwaterforthefirstweek,toensuregermination.Then,webegantheacid
treatmentoneweekafterplanting,whentheseedshadgerminated.Forthefirstweek,we
wateredthreetimeswiththenormalgreenhousewater.Forthefollowingfourweeks,we
wateredtheplantswiththeircorrespondingacidtreatmentthreetimesaweek.Sinceplant
heightandnumberofleavescanbeusedasaproxyofplantsuccess,wetookmeasurements
ofeachonceaweek.Forheight,wemeasuredthelongestleafoneachplant.Forthenumber
ofleaves,wedidnotincludethemainstalkintheleafcount.Attheconclusionofthestudy,we
obtaineddryweightsoftheplants.Tomakecomparisonsbetweenthesixtreatmentgroupswe
usedtheAnalysisofVariance(ANOVA)testsandtukeystocomparetheaverageleafcount,
rateofgrowth,andbiomassbetweenthetreatmentgroups,witheachnullhypothesisstating
thereisnodifferencebetweenthemeansofeachtreatment.

Results

ABartlettTestaswellasaFlignerKilleentestofhomoscedasticitywasusedtotest
varianceswithineachtreatmentgroupandfoundthatforheight(figure2),biomass(figure4),
andleafcount(figure3)therewashomoscedasticity.Oncethiswasconfirmed,anANOVAfor
eachvariablewasrun,aswellasaLinearRegressionforbiomass(figure4),tofindthatthenull
hypothesiswassupportedinallwithpvaluesgreaterthan0.9.ThismeansthatforeachpH
testedtherewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferenceingrowthforSpringWheatbetweenpH
treatmentgroups.

Discussion
Weusedtheparametersofplantheightandleafcountovertimeinadditiontobiomass
andconcludedthattherewasnodifferencebetweenthedifferingacidtreatmentsandthe
control.ThegrowthofspringwheatcalculatedbytheseparametersprovedtoberesistanttopH
valuesrangingfrom4.06.0.
Theuseofacidprecipitationasastressortodifferentvarietiesofwheathasbeen
studiedbeforeusingamultitudeofparametersdifferentthanthoseinourexperiment.When
GeorgianwheatwassprayedwithapHof1.5,theearandstemlengths,aswellasthesoluble
carbohydratecontent,infact,increasedcomparedtothecontrol.Incontrast,thestarchcontent
diminishedintheseexperimentalplants(Rapavaetal.).Additionally,itisnoteworthythatseed
coatthicknessandtheweightof1,000seedswereparametersthatdidnotdecreaseduetoan
acidtreatmentwithapHof1.5,whereasthecontentsofstarchand/orproteinintheseedsof
wheatspecies,again,werereducedunderasharpdecreaseinpH(Badridzeetal.).
AlongwithseedcoatthicknessandseedweightfoundbyBadridzeetal.,andearand
stemlengthandcarbohydratecontentfoundbyRapavaetal.,weconcludethatplantheight,
leafcount,andabovegroundbiomassofspringwheatisresistanttoacidprecipitation.
Exposureofspringwheattosuchstressseemstoactivatemetabolicprocessesthataidinplant

survival(Badridzeetal.).Inordertocompetefortheabovelightsourcewiththe35otherseeds
ineachpot,springwheatfounditnecessarytoallocatetissuetotheleavesandheight,while
otherparametersmayactuallydecreaseunderconditionsoflowpH.
Ourstudyaidsintheunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenclimatechange,a
decreaseinrainpH,andspringwheatproduction.Itisessentialthatfoodcanstillbeproduced
despitechangingenvironmentalconditions.Duetotheacidificationofrainandsoil,itmaybe
necessaryforfarmerstoincreasethepHoftheirfieldsforcertaincrops,whichcanbedone
usinglimeordolomite.Limecontainsmostlycalciumcarbonateanddolomitecontainscalcium
carbonateandmagnesiumcarbonate.Theamountoflimeordolomiteuseddependsonsoil
compositionandthestartingpHofthesoil(Perry).Anotheroptionforextremelysensitiveplants
isselectivebreedingtoincreasetheirhardiness.Judgingfromourresultsonhowspringwheat
reactedtoacidrain,thesemeasuresdonotappeartobenecessarybecausespringwheatis
notsensitive.ItwasfoundthatevenwithwateratapHof2.5,reductionincropgrowthwasonly
significantinthemostsensitivevarieties(Kaplan).
Astudysimilartooursmeasuredthesuccessofradish,spinach,andbushbeanswhen
wateredwithsimulatedacidrain.TheyconcludedthatcurrentlevelsofacidraininJapan(4.6)
doesnotaffectthegrowthofthesethreecrops(HosonoandNouchi).RaininWisconsinhasa
similarpH,sothisresearchcanbeextrapolatedtolocalWisconsinfarms.Ifcertaincrops,such
asourspringwheat,arerelativelyunaffectedbyincreasingacidity,thefutureofagricultureof
thosecropswillnotbecompromisedbythisaspectofclimatechange.Anotherstudyfoundthat
theeffectofacidrainonsoybeanswasnotasstrongastheeffectsofotherstressors,including
drought,disease,insects,andweeds(Porteretal.).Thisisinterestingbecausethegrowthof
ourspringwheatmayhavebeenmorenegativelyinfluencedbytheinfrequencyofwateringthan
theacidraintreatments.

Inconclusion,therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweentheplantheight,leafnumber,
orbiomasswhencomparingthecontrolgroupspringwheatwiththeacidraintreatedgroups.
Thismayindicatethatspringwheatishardyenoughtoresistthenegativeeffectsofacidrain.
Futurestudiesonspringwheatcouldhelptoconfirmthisspeculationbytestingother
parameterssuchasstarchandproteincontent.

WorksCited

AcidRaininWisconsin.Madison,WI:WisconsinDept.ofNaturalResources,1994.15.Acid
RaininWisconsin.Web.
<http://www.rst2.edu/ties/acidrain/PDF/1backinfo/bg8.pdf>.

Badridze,G.,N.Kacharava,E.Chkhubianishvili,L.Rapava,M.Kikvidze,Sh.Chanishvili,N.
Shakarishvili,L.Mazanishvili,andL.Chigladze."EffectofUVRadiationand
ArtificialAcidRainonProductivityofWheat."RussJEcolRussianJournalof
Ecology47.2(2016):15866.Web.

Dolatabadian,Ariaetal."TheRoleofCalciuminImprovingPhotosynthesisandRelated
PhysiologicalandBiochemicalAttributesofSpringWheatSubjectedtoSimulated
AcidRain."PhysiolMolBiolPlantsPhysiologyandMolecularBiologyofPlants
19.2(2013):18998.Web.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3656184/>.

Hogan,GaryD."PhysiologicalEffectsofDirectImpactofAcidicDepositiononFoliage."
Agriculture,Ecosystems&Environment42.34(1992):30719.Web.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/science/article/pii/016788
099290006W>.

Hosono,Tatsuo,andIsamuNouchi."EffectsofSimulatedAcidRainontheGrowthof
AgriculturalCrops."JournalofAgriculturalMeteorologyJ.Agric.Meteorol.48.5
(1993):74346.Web.

Kaplan,J.Kim."CanCropsTolerateAcidRain?"AgriculturalResearch37.11(1989):9.
TechnologyResearchDatabase.Web.


Liu,TingTing,PengWu,LiHongWang,andQingZhou."ResponseofSoybeanSeed
GerminationtoCadmiumandAcidRain."BiologicalTraceElementResearch
BiolTraceElemRes144.13(2011):1186196.Web.

Perlman,Howard."AcidRain:DoYouNeedtoStartWearingaRainHat?"AcidRain,fromUSGS
WaterScienceSchool.U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior,2Mar.2016.Web.15Apr.
2016

Perry,Leonard."PHfortheGarden."PHfortheGarden.UniversityofVermontExtension
DepartmentofPlantandSoilScience,2003.Web.
<http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/pubs/oh34.htm>.

Porter,P.M.,W.L.Banwart,E.L.Ziegler,B.L.Vasilas,andJ.J.Hassett."EffectsofSimulated
AcidRainonGrowthParametersandYieldComponentsofTwoSoybean
Cultivars."NewPhytologistNewPhytol.113.1(1989):7783.Web.

Rapava,Luara,GulnaraBadridze,ShotaChanishvili,MedeaKikvidze,andTinatinBarblishvili.
"InfluenceofArtificialAcidPrecipitationonPhotosynthesis,TotalActivityof
GrowthRegulatorsandStarchContentintheSeedsofSomeEndemicSpecies
ofGeorgianWheat."TheJournalofBiologicalPhysicsandChemistry10.3
(2010):10207.Web.24Apr.2016.

Simmons,Steve,ErvOelke,andPhyllisAnderson."GrowthandDevelopmentGuideforSpring
Wheat."SmallGrainsProduction.UniversityofMinnesota,n.d.Web.
<http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/smallgrains/growthanddevelopment
/springwheat/>.

TablesandFigures