The Characterization of Ozone Exposures in Rural West Virginia and Virginia

Factors affecting stomatal uptake of ozone by different canopies and a comparison between dose and exposure

Measured ozone (O(3)) and carbon dioxide (CO(2)) concentrations and fluxes over five different canopies (mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, deciduous forest, corn, soybean and pasture) in the eastern USA were analyzed to investigate the stomatal uptake of O(3). It was found that the ambient O(3) concentration levels had little effect on stomatal conductance. However, the accumulated stomatal uptake of O(3), upon reaching a threshold value on any given day, appears to reduce the rate of further O(3) uptake substantially. This may explain why the maximum O(3) deposition velocity often appeared in the early morning hours over some forest canopies. Substantially reduced CO(2) fluxes over wet canopies compared to dry canopies suggest that stomata were likely partially or totally blocked by water droplets or films when canopies were wet. By using a big-leaf dry deposition model, measured O(3) fluxes were separated into stomatal and non-stomatal portions. It was estimated that stomatal uptake contributed 55-75% of the total daytime O(3) fluxes and 40-60% of the total daytime plus nighttime fluxes, depending on canopy type. This suggests that about half of the total O(3) flux occurred through the non-stomatal pathway. At three locations (deciduous forest, corn and soybean sites), O(3) concentrations of 30-60 ppb and of 60-85 ppb contributed equally to the accumulated stomatal fluxes, while at the other two locations (mixed coniferous-deciduous forest and pasture sites), concentrations of 30-60 ppb contributed twice as much as those from 60 to 85 ppb.

Role of Concentration and Time of Day in Developing Ozone Exposure Indices for a Secondary Standard

Evidence from exposure-response studies and a turbulent transfer model demonstrate that plant response is differential to concentration, duration, temporal pattern, and time of day of exposure. Reductions in productivity of crops and trees as seedlings are greater when plants are exposed to higher daytime ozone (O3) concentrations (0800-2000 hr standard time) or for longer durations. Primary evidence on the greater role of concentration comes from exposure-response experiments where plants are exposed to a series of pollutant concentrations in open-top chambers under field conditions. These studies demonstrate that the integrated exposure indices that give preferential weight to higher concentrations are better predictors of response than mean or peak indices. Evidence suggesting that mid-range O3 concentrations (0.05-0.09 parts per million, ppm) play a greater role than higher concentrations (>0.09 ppm) in biological response could not be justified. The time of day when O3 concentrations and atmospheric and stomatal conductances of gas exchange are optimal is a key to understanding plant response because plants respond only to O3 entering the leaf via stomata. A turbulent transfer model that describes the resistance of pollutant gas exchange from the atmosphere to the boundary layer of a forest canopy, as a function of micrometeorological variables, is developed to determine when flux of O3 is optimal. Based on meteorological and ambient air quality monitoring data at remote forest sites in the United States, it appears that O3 flux densities to the forest boundary layer are optimal during the 0800-2000 hr window. It is concluded that descriptors of ambient air quality for use in setting a federal standard should (1) cumulate hourly O3 concentrations, (2) give preferential weight to daytime concentrations between 0800 and 2000 hr, and (3) give preferential weight to higher O3 concentrations.