The effects of tropospheric ozone on net primary productivity and implications for climate change

Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2012:63:637-61. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-042110-103829. Epub 2012 Feb 9.

Abstract

Tropospheric ozone (O(3)) is a global air pollutant that causes billions of dollars in lost plant productivity annually. It is an important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, and as a secondary air pollutant, it is present at high concentrations in rural areas far from industrial sources. It also reduces plant productivity by entering leaves through the stomata, generating other reactive oxygen species and causing oxidative stress, which in turn decreases photosynthesis, plant growth, and biomass accumulation. The deposition of O(3) into vegetation through stomata is an important sink for tropospheric O(3), but this sink is modified by other aspects of environmental change, including rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, rising temperature, altered precipitation, and nitrogen availability. We review the atmospheric chemistry governing tropospheric O(3) mass balance, the effects of O(3) on stomatal conductance and net primary productivity, and implications for agriculture, carbon sequestration, and climate change.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / toxicity*
  • Carbon / pharmacokinetics
  • Climate Change*
  • Crops, Agricultural
  • Oxidants, Photochemical / toxicity
  • Ozone / toxicity*
  • Photosynthesis / drug effects
  • Plant Development / drug effects*
  • Plant Leaves / drug effects
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plant Stomata / drug effects
  • Plant Stomata / metabolism
  • Plants / drug effects*
  • Plants / metabolism*
  • Poaceae / growth & development
  • Trees / growth & development

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Oxidants, Photochemical
  • Ozone
  • Carbon