Chronic ozone exposure affects nitrogen remobilization in wheat at key growth stages

The interaction between nitrogen storage and translocation, senescence, and late phase photosynthesis is critical to the post-anthesis grain fill period in wheat, but ozone's effect on nitrogen dynamics within the wheat plant is not well understood. This study used solardomes to expose a widely grown elite spring wheat cultivar, cv. Skyfall, to four levels of ozone (30 ppb, 45 ppb, 70 ppb, 85 ppb) for 11 weeks, with two levels of nitrogen fertilization, 140 kg ha−1 and 160 kg ha−1, the higher rate including an additional 20 kg N ha−1 at anthesis. Chronic ozone exposure triggered earlier senescence in the 4th, 3rd and 2nd leaves but not the flag leaf, with a similar pattern of reduced chlorophyll content in the lower, older leaf cohorts, which started before senescence became visible. At anthesis there was no evidence of any effect of ozone on nitrogen storage in upper plant parts. However, high ozone increased levels of residual nitrogen found within plant parts at harvest, with concomitant reductions in C:N ratios and Nitrogen Remobilization Efficiency. Extra nitrogen fertilization applied at anthesis appeared to ameliorate the effect of ozone on nitrogen content and nitrogen translocation. The application of 15N ammonium nitrate at anthesis confirmed that the majority of post-anthesis nitrogen uptake had been translocated to the ear/grain by harvest, with no effect of ozone on the translocation of nitrogen around the plant. These data can inform future modelling of ozone's effect on nitrogen dynamics and global wheat yields.