H-1-NMR MICROIMAGING AND CORRELATED SEM STUDIES OF SPRUCE NEEDLES FROM HEALTHY AND DECLINED FOREST SITES

1H-NMR micro-imaging is a technique for measuring mobile proton density and for obtaining crosssectional pictures of quantitative distribution of water in living tissues. An application comparing healthy and damaged Norway spruce needles of a slightly polluted stand of the Sauerland area, Germany, and a severely polluted stand of the Eggegebirge, Germany, is presented. Damaged needles show a higher proton signal intensity and a different distribution of free water in the needle tissues compared with healthy needles. 1H-NMR microimaging and correlated SEM studies give rise to an integrated interpretation of symptoms caused by air pollution. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.