HR: 0800h
AN: ED31A-0095    [Abstracts]
TI: Calcium Oxalate Crystals as an Indicator of Plant Stress in Conifers at two elevations on Mount Moosilauke, NH
AU: * Allen, M N
EM: mmb8@unh.edu
AF: University of New Hampshire, Leitzel Center Parson Hall, Durham, NH 03824, United States
AU: Rock, B N
EM: barry.rock@unh.edu
AF: University of New Hampshire, Leitzel Center Parson Hall, Durham, NH 03824, United States
AU: Hale, S R
EM: steve.hale@unh.edu
AF: University of New Hampshire, Leitzel Center Parson Hall, Durham, NH 03824, United States
AU: Graham, K J
EM: karen.graham@unh.edu
AF: University of New Hampshire, Leitzel Center Parson Hall, Durham, NH 03824, United States
AB: The research presented was conducted as part of Watershed Watch, a two-week hands-on summer program for undeclared entry-level undergraduates, designed to recruit and retain students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The research was conducted on needles of red spruce (Picea rubens) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) at the University of New Hampshire. The presence of calcium oxalate crystals (CaOx) in the cell walls of spruce mesophyll cells has been reported as an indicator of environmental stress. To assess this, first and third year needles of both species were collected from Mt. Moosilauke (Woodstock, NH) at two elevations (790m and 960m). Needles were analyzed using reflectance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Estimates of chlorophyll and water were made using the Red Edge Inflection Point and the Moisture Stress Index. These were compared to SEM images of needle sections to visually correlate the amount of CaOx with the reflectance indices. Balsam fir from 790m have a higher occurrence of CaOx in their first and third year needles than from the 960m site, while spectroscopy results indicated less stress (i.e., higher chlorophyll and more water) at the lower site. This does not support a correlation between CaOx and stress factors in balsam fir. In red spruce, those needles with fewest CaOx had higher estimates of chlorophyll and water, supporting the correlation. Based on these results, more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between CaOx and plant stress in different species of conifers.
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting