The Effects of Tropospheric Ozone on Net Primary Productivity and Implications for Climate Change

Abstract

Tropospheric ozone (O3) 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 O3 into vegetation through stomata is an important sink for tropospheric O3, 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 O3 mass balance, the effects of O3 on stomatal conductance and net primary productivity, and implications for agriculture, carbon sequestration, and climate change.