Stricter ozone ambient air quality standard has beneficial effect on ponderosa pine in California

Air Pollution and Climate Drive Annual Growth in Ponderosa Pine Trees in Southern California

The ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa, Douglas ex C. Lawson) is a climate-sensitive tree species dominant in the mixed conifer stands of the San Bernardino Mountains of California. However, the close proximity to the city of Los Angeles has resulted in extremely high levels of air pollution. Nitrogen (N) deposition, resulting from nitrous oxides emitted from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, has been recorded in this region since the 1980s. The impact of this N deposition on ponderosa pine growth is complex and often obscured by other stressors including climate, bark beetle attack, and tropospheric ozone pollution. Here I use a 160-year-long (1855–2015) ponderosa pine tree ring chronology to examine the annual response of tree growth to both N deposition and climate in this region. The chronology is generated from 34 tree cores taken near Crestline, CA. A stepwise multiple regression between the tree ring chronology and various climate and air pollution stressors indicates that drought conditions at the end of the rainy season (March) and NO2 pollution during the water year (pOct-Sep) exhibit primary controls on growth (r2-adj = 0.65, p < 0.001). The direct correlation between NO2 and tree growth suggests that N deposition has a positive impact on ponderosa pine bole growth in this region. However, it is important to note that ozone, a known stressor to ponderosa pine trees, and NO2 are also highly correlated (r = 0.84, p < 0.05). Chronic exposure to both ozone and nitrogen dioxide may, therefore, have unexpected impacts on tree sensitivity to climate and other stressors in a warming world.

Temporal Changes in Ozone Concentrations and Their Impact on Vegetation

Tropospheric concentrations of phytotoxic ozone (O3) have undergone a great increase from preindustrial 10–15 ppbv to a present-day concentration of 35–40 ppbv in large parts of the industrialised world due to increased emissions of O3 precursors including NOx, CO, CH4 and volatile organic compounds. The rate of increase in O3 concentration ranges between 1 ppbv per decade in remote locations of the Southern hemisphere and 5 ppbv per decade in the Northern hemisphere, where largest sources of O3 precursors are located. Molecules of O3 penetrating into the leaves through the stomatal apertures trigger the formation of reactive oxygen species, leading thus to the damage of the photosynthetic apparatus. Accordingly, it is assumed, that O3 increase reduces the terrestrial carbon uptake relative to the preindustrial era. Here we summarise the results of previous manipulative experiments in laboratory growth cabinets, field open-top chambers and free-air systems together with O3 flux measurements under natural growth conditions. In particular, we focus on leaf-level physiological responses in trees, variability in stomatal O3 flux and changes in carbon fluxes and biomass production in forest stands. As the results reported in the literature are highly variable, ranging from negligible to severe declines in photosynthetic carbon uptake, we also discuss the possible interactions of O3 with other environmental factors including solar radiation, drought, temperature and nitrogen deposition. Those factors were found to have great potential to modulate stomata openness and O3 fluxes.

Ozone effects on plants in natural ecosystems

Tropospheric ozone (O₃ ) is an important stressor in natural ecosystems, with well-documented impacts on soils, biota and ecological processes. The effects of O₃ on individual plants and processes scale up through the ecosystem through effects on carbon, nutrient and hydrologic dynamics. Ozone effects on individual species and their associated microflora and fauna cascade through the ecosystem to the landscape level. Systematic injury surveys demonstrate that foliar injury occurs on sensitive species throughout the globe. However, deleterious impacts on plant carbon, water and nutrient balance can also occur without visible injury. Because sensitivity to O₃ may follow coarse physiognomic plant classes (in general, herbaceous crops are more sensitive than deciduous woody plants, grasses and conifers), the task still remains to use stomatal O₃ uptake to assess class and species' sensitivity. Investigations of the radial growth of mature trees, in combination with data from many controlled studies with seedlings, suggest that ambient O₃ reduces growth of mature trees in some locations. Models based on tree physiology and forest stand dynamics suggest that modest effects of O₃ on growth may accumulate over time, other stresses (prolonged drought, excess nitrogen deposition) may exacerbate the direct effects of O₃ on tree growth, and competitive interactions among species may be altered. Ozone exposure over decades may be altering the species composition of forests currently, and as fossil fuel combustion products generate more O₃ than deteriorates in the atmosphere, into the future as well.

An approach for evaluating the effectiveness of various ozone air quality standards for protecting trees

We demonstrate an approach for evaluating the level of protection attained using a variety of forms and levels of past, current, and proposed Air Quality Standards (AQSs). The U.S. Clean Air Act requires the establishment of ambient air quality standards to protect health and public welfare. However, determination of attainment of these standards is based on ambient pollutant concentrations rather than prevention of adverse effects. To determine if a given AQS protected against adverse effects on vegetation, hourly ozone concentrations were adjusted to create exposure levels that "just attain" a given standard. These exposures were used in combination with a physiologically-based tree growth model to account for the interactions of climate and ozone. In the evaluation, we used ozone concentrations from two 6-year time periods from the San Bernardino Mountains in California. There were clear differences in the level of vegetation protection achieved with the various AQSs. Based on modeled plant growth, the most effective standards were the California 8-hr average maximum of 70 ppb and a seasonal, cumulative, concentration-weighted index (SUM06), which if attained, resulted in annual growth reductions of 1% or less. Least effective was the 1-hr maximum of 120 ppb which resulted in a 7% annual reduction. We conclude that combining climate, exposure scenarios, and a process-based plant growth simulator was a useful approach for evaluating effectiveness of current or proposed air quality standards, or evaluating the form and/or level of a standard based on preventing adverse growth effects.

Isozyme markers associated with O(3) tolerance indicate shift in genetic structure of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine in Sequoia National Park, California

Effects of canopy ozone (O(3)) exposure and signatures of genetic structure using isozyme markers associated with O(3) tolerance were analyzed in approximately 20-, approximately 80-, and >200-yr-old ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) and Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) in Sequoia National Park, California. For both species, the number of alleles and genotypes per loci was higher in parental trees relative to saplings. In ponderosa pine, the heterozygosity value increased, and the fixation index indicated reduction of homozygosity with increasing tree age class. The opposite tendencies were observed for Jeffrey pine. Utilizing canopy attributes known to be responsive to O(3) exposure, ponderosa pine was more symptomatic than Jeffrey pine, and saplings were more symptomatic than old growth trees. We suggest that these trends are related to differing sensitivity of the two species to O(3) exposure, and to higher O(3) exposures and drought stress that younger trees may have experienced during germination and establishment.

New exposure-based metric approach for evaluating O(3) risk to North American aspen forests

The United States and Canada currently use exposure-based metrics to protect vegetation from O(3). Using 5 years (1999-2003) of co-measured O(3), meteorology and growth response, we have developed exposure-based regression models that predict Populus tremuloides growth change within the North American ambient air quality context. The models comprised growing season fourth-highest daily maximum 8-h average O(3) concentration, growing degree days, and wind speed. They had high statistical significance, high goodness of fit, include 95% confidence intervals for tree growth change, and are simple to use. Averaged across a wide range of clonal sensitivity, historical 2001-2003 growth change over most of the 26 Mha P. tremuloides distribution was estimated to have ranged from no impact (0%) to strong negative impacts (-31%). With four aspen clones responding negatively (one responded positively) to O(3), the growing season fourth-highest daily maximum 8-h average O(3) concentration performed much better than growing season SUM06, AOT40 or maximum 1h average O(3) concentration metrics as a single indicator of aspen stem cross-sectional area growth.

California black oak response to nitrogen amendment at a high O3, nitrogen-saturated site

In a nitrogen (N) saturated forest downwind from Los Angeles, California, the cumulative response to long-term background-N and N-amendment on black oak (Quercus kelloggii) was described in a below-average and average precipitation year. Monthly measurements of leaf and branch growth, gas exchange, and canopy health attributes were conducted. The effects of both pollutant exposure and drought stress were complex due to whole tree and leaf level responses, and shade versus full sun leaf responses. N-amended trees had lower late summer carbon (C) gain and greater foliar chlorosis in the drought year. Leaf water use efficiency was lower in N-amended trees in midsummer of the average precipitation year, and there was evidence of poor stomatal control in full sun. In shade, N-amendment enhanced stomatal control. Small differences in instantaneous C uptake in full sun, lower foliar respiration, and greater C gain in low light contributed to the greater aboveground growth observed.