Dresden 2006 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 40: Poster Session II

AKB 40.16: Poster

Wednesday, March 29, 2006, 16:30–19:30, P3

The Stress of Leaves in our Climatic Environment — •Agnieszka Krol-Otwinowska, Karl Hieble, and Margret Giesen — Institut für Schichten und Grenzflächen, ISG 4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D 52425 Jülich

Climatic changes as well as industrial pollution may have a dramatic effect on the health condition of plants. Our goal is to gain a new understanding of the correlation between the functionality of plant leaves and environmental factors from a surface sciencist*s point of view. For that purpose we introduce for the first time measurements of the surface stress of cuticular wax layers under climatic realistic conditions. The origin of surface stress is the local polarization of the electron charge density due to the chemical bonding of adsorbates. Using the laser deflection method (1) surface stress changes of the order of 0.01 N/m are detectable. Changes in the surface stress are hence sensitive indicators for interaction-induced charge changes and structural surface relaxations. We present studies of the surface stress of wax layers from cherry laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus) and apple leaves (Golden Delicious) as a function of climatic relevant parameters (e.g. gas dose, air humidity, pH, temperature, UV-light). (1) Rev. Sci. Instrum. 66(9), (1995), 4734