The effects of traffic-related air pollution on the flower morphology of Iris pumila – Comparison of a polluted city area and the unpolluted Deliblato sands (Nature reserve)

Abstract

The function of flowers, as the reproductive organs of plants, can be altered by changes in the size and shape of their constituent parts in traffic-related air polluted areas. The aim of this work was to compare the length, width, centroid size and shape (using a set of shape variables - partal warps) of Iris pumila standards (petals) from an urban area of Belgrade city with data from the Deliblato Sands – an unpolluted nature reserve. Differences between the areas, as well as differences in clonal variability, for length, centroid size (ANOVA p < 0.001) and shape variation of standards were significant (MANOVA p < 0.001). Micro-environmental conditions induced significant diversity between flowers within a clone (p < 0.001), while intra-individual variation (part effects, p > 0.05) was not confirmed. Decrease of standard length and centroid size in the polluted environment was detected, as well as a change in the shape of this I. pumila flower part. The standards were shorter and wider in the polluted area when compared to those in the unpolluted environment.