Quantification of Chlorophyll and Carotene Pigments Content in Mountain Melick (Melica nutans L.) in Relation to Edaphic Variables

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify and compare the content of chlorophyll and carotene pigments in mountain melick plants (Melica nutans L.) growing in two forest habitats in the Zielonka Forest Landscape Park in the Greater Poland region, which differed in soil properties and moisture. Leaf blades from the middle level of Melica nutans generative shoots were used as analytical material to measure the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, β-carotene and total carotenoids. The average (±SD) content of chlorophyll a in the Melica nutans plants growing in the less fertile site (Location I) amounted to 6.67 ± 0.99 mg·g−1 DM. The average content of chlorophyll b in the same plants was 2.44 ± 0.39 mg·g−1 DM. The Melica nutans plants growing in the more fertile site (Location II) had a higher content of chlorophyll a, i.e., 7.76 ± 0.96 mg·g−1 DM, and lower content of chlorophyll b, i.e., 2.36 ± 0.26 mg·g−1 DM. The plants collected from both sites had similar content of β-carotene, i.e., 0.61 ± 0.11 mg·g−1 DM Location I and 0.62 ± 0.07 mg·g−1 DM Location II. The plants growing in the less fertile site (Location I) had significantly higher total carotene content than the plants in the more fertile site (Location II). The content of pigments in the Melica nutans plants was significantly differentiated by the meteorological conditions in the subsequent years of the research. In the first year of the research, the average content of all chlorophyll pigments in the plants was significantly higher than in the second drier year, regardless of the site.