Abstract
This is a preliminary hydroponic study to test willow sensitivity to silver nitrate, a highly toxic chemical compound. We grew willow cuttings for a period of three weeks in the presence of increasing AgNO3 concentrations and assessed the response in terms of growth and physiology. We found that AgNO3 is generally extremely harmful to willow. AgNO3 concentration as high as 0.027 μM may result in a significant reduction of biomass productivity and a decrease in stomatal conductance over the first week of exposure. However, willows seem able to adapt to high AgNO3 concentrations on a longer timeline.
KEY WORDS:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank four precious collaborators: Dr. Emmanuel Gonzalez for help with several issues related to silver chemistry; Stéphane Daigle for assistance with statistical analysis and interpretation of the results; Louise Pelletier for SEM pictures of tip root samples; and Karen Grislis for review of the English style of the manuscript.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline/bijp.