Grantee Research Project Results

Effects of ozone pollution on terrestrial ecosystem productivity.

Citation:

Ren W, Tian HQ. Effects of ozone pollution on terrestrial ecosystem productivity. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology 2007;31(2):219-230.

Abstract:

Air pollution is a key factor that threatens earth’s ecosystems and sustainability. Tropospheric ozone continues to be of major concern in the field of air pollution effects on terrestrial ecosystem productivity. In this paper, we have reviewed recent progresses in the studies of ozone effects on terrestrial production processes (including plant photosynthesis, carbon allocation, plant growth and crop yield), nutrient cycling, and species composition. Increased evidence shows that ozone can reduce the capability of photosynthesis by influencing leaf area and stomatal conductance, and alters the pattern of carbon allocation between shoot and root. Previous studies have also shown that elevated ozone could result in a maximum loss of 30% crop yield or forest production. However, little is known about how elevated ozone affects decomposition, nutrient cycling, species composition and trophic dynamics. There is an urgent need to investigate the synergetic effects of ozone pollution and climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. To address such a complex and large-scale environmental problem, spatially-explicit process-based ecosystem models have been used extensively in recent years. To advance our understanding of how air pollution and climate change influence terrestrial ecosystem productivity, further studies are needed to address multifactor experiments in the field and enhance the interaction between field studies and modeling.