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EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN AND GASEOUS POLLUTANTS ON FOREST PRODUCTIVITY: A REGIONAL SCALE APPROACH
Citation:
McLaughlin, S., T. Blasing, L. Mann, AND D. Duvick. EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN AND GASEOUS POLLUTANTS ON FOREST PRODUCTIVITY: A REGIONAL SCALE APPROACH. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-83/214.
Description:
Increased industrialization of the eastern U.S. over the past several decades has led to regional scale buildup of atmospheric pollutants and concern over possible losses in forest productivity within this region. This paper describes the rationale, methodology, and some preliminary results of a large regional scale study designed to characterize and quantify forest growth impacts attributable to atmospheric stress from both gaseous pollutants and acid rainfall. This research employs a variety of dendroecological techniques to examine the influence of climatic factors, tree age, soil type, competition and air pollution on tree growth. This broadly collaborative project involves twelve government and university research stations working with a common experimental protocol to examine 50 year ring-width series from approximately 6000 trees distributed over an area extending from Maine to North Carolina and as far west as Missouri. Principal objectives of this research are to determine whether a systematic pattern of decreasing forest growth has occurred, to define its temporal, spatial, and quantitative characteristics, to determine its relationship to differences in soil quality and tree species and to evaluate its correlation with present and past indices of atmospheric deposition. (Copyright (c) 1983-Air Pollution Control Association.)