Harmens, Harry

Hayes, Felicity

Mills, Gina

Sharps, Katrina

NERC Open Research Archive

Ozone	  pollu5on:	  a	  global	  problem	  Ozone	   is	   a	   natural	   component	   of	   the	   atmosphere.	   In	   the	   upper	   layer	   of	   the	   Earth’s	  atmosphere,	  ozone	   is	  protec>ng	  us	   from	  harmful	  UV	   light	   from	   the	   sun.	  However,	   at	  ground	  level,	  ozone	  is	  a	  damaging	  pollutant	  that	  has	  nega>ve	  impacts	  on	  human	  health	  and	  vegeta>on.	  Here,	  as	  well	  as	  being	  produced	  from	  natural	  sources,	  added	  ozone	  is	  formed	   from	   chemical	   reac>ons	   involving	   compounds	   emiXed,	   for	   example,	   from	  vehicle	  exhausts	  and	  industry	  in	  the	  presence	  of	  sunlight.	  The	  concentra>on	  of	  ozone	  is	  strongly	   inﬂuenced	   by	   the	   weather,	   being	   higher	   on	   warm,	   dry	   sunny	   days.	   These	  condi>ons	  can	   lead	   to	  “ozone	  episodes”	  where	  concentra>ons	  peak	  at	  high	   levels	   for	  several	  days.	  Ozone	  concentra>ons	  are	  generally	  higher	  in	  the	  summer	  and	  spring	  than	  in	  the	  winter	  and	  autumn,	  and	  tend	  to	  be	  highest	  in	  rural	  and	  upland	  areas,	  par>cularly	  downwind	   of	   major	   ci>es.	   However,	   large	   regional	   diﬀerences	   are	   seen	   around	   the	  world,	   reﬂec>ng	   varying	   climate	   condi>ons	   and	   varia>ons	   in	   regional	   and	   globally	  transported	  sources	  of	  ozone-­‐forming	  chemicals.	  	  Ozone-­‐induced	  damage	  on	  le0uce	  (le2),	  French	  bean	  (middle)	  and	  black	  cherry	  (right).	  With	  high	  uncertainty,	  pre-­‐industrial	  natural	   ozone	   concentra>ons	   were	  es>mated	   to	   be	   ca.	   10	   –	   15	   parts	  per	   billion	   (ppb).	   Present	   day	  background	   (seasonal	   or	   annual	  average)	   ozone	   concentra>ons	   are	  ca.	   30	   –	   40	   ppb.	   Background	  concentra>ons	   have	   roughly	  doubled	   between	   1950	   -­‐	   2000,	  followed	   by	   a	   decade	   with	   no	  further	   rise	   or	   even	   a	   reduc>on	   in	  ozone	   at	   some	   sites,	   par>cularly	   in	  the	  summer	  (See	  Figure.	  Parish	  et	  al.,	  2012.	   Atmospheric	   Chemistry	   and	  Physics	  12:	  11485–11504).	  	  Seasonal	   ozone	   average	   at	   Mace	   Head,	  Northern	  Ireland	  (Parish	  et	  al.,	  2012).	  Applying	   the	   latest	   climate	   change	   scenarios,	   surface	   ozone	   concentra>ons	   are	  predicted	   to	   decline	   further	   in	   the	   future	   in	   Europe	   and	   North-­‐America,	   with	   the	  magnitude	  of	  decline	  depending	  on	  scenario,	  whereas	  an	  increase	  is	  expected	  in	  South	  Asia.	   Limi>ng	   atmospheric	   methane	   growth	   will	   	   become	   more	   important	   when	  emissions	   of	   other	   ozone	   precursors	   are	   controlled	   (Wild	   et	   al.,	   2012.	   Atmospheric	  Chemistry	  and	  Physics	  12:	  2037–2054).	  Despite	  a	  more	   than	  30%	  reduc>on	   in	  European	  emissions	  of	  ozone	  precursors	  during	  the	   last	   two	  decades,	  a	  decline	   in	  mean	  ozone	  concentra>ons	   is	  generally	  not	   seen	  at	  EMEP*	  ozone	  monitoring	  sites	  (Torseth	  et	  al.,	  2012.	  Atmospheric	  Chemistry	  and	  Physics	  12:	  5447–5481;	   Simpson	  et	  al.,	   2014.	  Current	  Opinion	   in	  Environmental	   Sustainability	  9-­‐10:	  9-­‐19).	  Rural	  background	  data	  over	  1990	  –	  2010	  show	  a	  decrease	  in	  the	  highest	  concentra>ons	  and	  a	  corresponding	  increase	  in	  low	  concentra>ons	  in	  the	  UK,	  the	  Netherlands	  and	  some	  other	  countries,	  but	  no	  clear	  trends	  in,	  for	  example,	  Switzerland	  or	  Austria	  (see	  ﬁgure).	  Reduced	   precursor	   emissions	   might	   well	   be	   being	   masked	   by	   large	   inter-­‐annual	  varia>ons	  in	  ozone,	  caused	  by,	  for	  example	  climate,	  weather	  or	  biomass	  burning	  events.	  Ozone	  trends	  in	  recent	  decades	  in	  Europe	  Change	  in	  mean	  annual	  percen>les	  of	  hourly	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  from	  the	  decade	  1990–1999	  to	  the	  decade	   2000–2009	   at	   EMEP	   monitoring	   sites.	   Whereas	   the	   median	   (50th	   percen>le)	   ozone	  concentra>on	   has	   hardly	   changed,	   peak	   concentra>ons	   (above	   >95th	   percen>le)	   have	   declined	   and	  background	  concentra>ons	  (lower	  percen>les)	  have	  risen	  in	  some	  places	  (Simpson	  et	  al.,	  2014.	  Current	  Opinion	  in	  Environmental	  Sustainability	  9-­‐10:	  9-­‐19).	  Future	  projec5ons	  *	  EMEP	  =	  European	  Monitoring	  and	  Evalua>on	  Programme	  (hXp://www.emep.int).	  Ozone	  trends	  (1999	  –	  2010)	  at	  	  ICP	  Vegeta5on	  biomonitoring	  sites	  The	   ICP	   Vegeta>on	   biomonitoring	   programme	   has	   involved	   exposure	   of	   an	   ozone-­‐sensi>ve	  variety	  of	  white	  clover	  in	  early	  years	  and	  an	  ozone-­‐sensi>ve	  variety	  of	  French	  bean	  in	  later	  years	  to	  ambient	  air	  between	  1999	  and	  2010.	  A	  long	  >me-­‐series	  of	  ozone	  concentra>on	  data	  are	  available	  from	  sites	  spanning	  a	  representa>ve	  north-­‐south	  and	  east-­‐west	  gradient	  across	  Europe.	  Here	  we	  report	  on	  temporal	  trends	  of	  hourly	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  and	  metrics	  indica>ng	  the	  risk	  of	  ozone	  impacts	  on	  vegeta>on	  for	  June,	  July	  and	  August.	  Earlier	  analyses	  has	  shown	  that	  there	  were	  no	  clear	  temporal	  trends	  of	  ozone	   impact	   on	   white	   clover	   leaf	   injury	   or	   biomass	   (Hayes	   et	   al.,	   2007.	   Evidence	   of	  widespread	  ozone	  damage	  to	  vegetaYon	  in	  Europe	  (1990-­‐2006).	  Report	  ICP	  VegetaYon;	  Mills	  et	  al.,	  2011.	  Global	  Change	  Biology	  17:	  592–613).	  Ozone	  concentra5on	  European	  trend	  Sites	  showing	  European	  trend	  0-­‐19	  ppb	   Decline	   Tervuren	  (BE),	  Seibersdorf	  (AT)	  20-­‐39	  ppb	   Increase	   Östad	  (SE),	  Ascot	  (GB),	  Tervuren	  (BE),	  Giessen	  (DE)	  40-­‐59	  ppb	   None	   All,	  except	  increase	  in	  Seibersdorf	  (AT)	  ≥60	  ppb	   Decline	   Ljubljana	  (SI)	  Trends	  (1999	  –	  2010)	  in	  ozone	  concentraYons	  at	  ICP	  VegetaYon	  sites.	  Ozone-­‐induced	  leaf	  injury	  	  on	  white	  clover.	  Biomass	  reducYon	  in	  ozone-­‐	  sensiYve	  (le2)	  compared	  	  to	  resistant	  variety	  (right)	  of	  white	  clover.	  Sites	  included	  in	  this	  study.	  Trends	  in	  ozone	  concentra5on	  distribu5on	  Analysis	   of	   the	   European	   data	   showed	   that	   in	   recent	   years	   the	   propor>on	   of	   hourly	  ozone	  concentra>on	  in	  the	  lowest	  and	  highest	  ozone	  categories	  has	  declined	  (P	  <	  0.10),	  whereas	   the	   propor>on	   in	   the	   category	   20	   -­‐	   39	   ppb	   has	   increased	   (P	   <	   0.001);	   the	  propor>on	   in	   the	   category	   40	   -­‐	   59	   ppb	   has	   not	   changed	   (see	   table).	   These	   results	  conﬁrm	   the	   general	   trend	   observed	   across	   Europe,	   i.e.	   background	   ozone	  concentra>ons	  are	  rising	  whereas	  peak	  concentra>ons	  are	  declining.	  Trends*	  (1999	  –	  2010)	  in	  AOT40	  *	  A	  signiﬁcant	  decline	  (at	  P	  <	  0.10)	  was	  only	  observed	  in	  Ljubljana	  (Slovenia).	  051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearSeibersdorf	  	  (Austria)051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearTervuren	  (Belgium)051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearAscot	  (UK)051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearGiessen	  (Germany)051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearPisa	  (Italy)051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearÖstad	  (Sweden)051015201998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010AOT40	  (ppm	  h)YearLjubljana	  (Slovenia)P	  =	  0.06AOT40a	  and	  ozone	  ﬂuxes	  into	  the	  leaf	  pores	  (POD3IAMb)	  provide	  an	  indica>on	  of	  ozone	  risk	   to	   vegeta>on.	   It	   should	   be	   noted	   that	   ozone	   ﬂux	   provides	   a	   biologically	   more	  meaningful	   assessment	   of	   ozone	   risk	   (Mills	   et	   al.,	   2011.	   Atmospheric	   Environment	   45:	  5064-­‐5068).	  Despite	  a	  European	  decline	   in	  ozone	   concentra>ons	  of	  more	   than	  60	  ppb,	  AOT40	  did	  not	  show	  any	  trend,	  apart	  from	  a	  decline	  in	  Slovenia	  (P	  =	  0.06),	  reﬂec>ng	  the	  trend	  observed	  for	  the	  daily	  maximum	  ozone	  concentra>on.	  Concentra>ons	  much	  lower	  than	  40	  ppb	  contribute	  to	   the	  ozone	  ﬂux.	  The	  ozone	  ﬂux	   into	   leaves	  showed	  no	  trend	  between	  1999	  and	  2010,	  indica>ng	  that	  the	  risk	  of	  ozone-­‐induced	  eﬀects	  on	  wheat	  has	  not	  changed	  with	  >me.	  Considering	  the	  annual	  varia>on	  in	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  due	  to	  climate	   varia>on,	   much	   longer	   >me	   series	   are	   probably	   required	   to	   detect	   temporal	  trends	  in	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  and	  eﬀects	  on	  vegeta>on	  across	  Europe.	  a	  AOT40	  =	  Sum	  of	  diﬀerences	  between	  hourly	  mean	  ozone	  concentra>on	  (in	  ppb)	  and	  40	  ppb	  for	  each	  hour	  when	  the	  concentra>on	  exceeds	  40	  ppb,	  accumulated	  during	  daylight.	  b	  POD3IAM	  =	  Phytotoxic	  Ozone	  Dose	  above	  a	  ﬂux	  threshold	  of	  3	  nmol	  m-­‐2	  s-­‐1,	  accumulated	  during	  daylight	  hours.	  Parameterisa>on	  is	  based	  on	  wheat	  for	  applica>on	  in	  integrated	  assessment	  modelling	  (IAM);	  adequate	  soil	  water	  supply	  was	  assumed.	  Country	   Site	   24	  hr	  mean	  Daylight	  mean	  Night	  mean	  Daily	  max	  Daily	  min	  AOT40a	   POD3	  IAMb	  Belgium	   Tervuren	   None	   None	   Increase	   None	   Increase	   None	   None	  Slovenia	   Ljubljana	   None	   None	   None	   Decline	   None	   Decline	   None	  European	  mean	   None	   None	   Increase	   None	   Increase	   None	   None	  Trends*	  (1999	  –	  2010)	  in	  ozone	  concentraYons	  and	  leaf	  ﬂuxes	  at	  sites**	  across	  Europe.	  No	   temporal	   trends	   were	   found	   for	   the	   24	   hr	   mean	   and	   daylight	   mean	   ozone	  concentra>ons	   (see	   table).	   This	   is	   in	   agreement	   with	   trends	   reported	   for	   mean	   and	  median	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  at	  EMEP	  monitoring	  sites.	  However,	  night	  >me	  mean	  and	  daily	  minimum	  ozone	  concentra>on	  have	  increased	  (0.27	  ppb	  per	  year)	  across	  Europe,	  although	   only	   signiﬁcantly	   (P	   <	   0.10)	   in	   Tervuren,	   Belgium.	   Despite	   a	   decline	   in	   the	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  of	  60	  ppb	  or	  higher,	  the	  average	  European	  daily	  maximum	  ozone	  concentra>on	  has	  not	  changed,	  although	  a	  decline	  was	  reported	  for	  Ljubljana,	  Slovenia.	  	  	  *	  	  	  	  The	  non-­‐parametric	  Mann-­‐Kendall	  trend	  test	  was	  applied.	  **	  	  Data	  are	  shown	  for	  sites	  showing	  at	  least	  one	  signiﬁcant	  trend	  (P	  <	  0.10).	  No	  signiﬁcant	  trends	  for	  any	  of	  the	  variables	  were	  observed	  for	  Östad	  (Sweden),	  Ascot	  (UK),	  Giessen	  (Germany),	  Seibersdorf	  (Austria)	  and	  Pisa	  (Italy).	  Further	  trends	  in	  ozone	  concentra5ons	  and	  ﬂuxes:	  risk	  of	  impacts	  Trends*	  in	  ozone	  eﬀects	  on	  wheat	  yield	  	  based	  on	  calculated	  ozone	  ﬂux	  (POD3IAM)	  The	   lack	  of	   trends	   in	  ozone	  ﬂux	   into	   the	   leaf	  pores	  means	   that	   there	   is	  also	  a	   lack	  of	  trends	  in	  the	  eﬀects	  of	  ozone	  on	  wheat	  yield.	  On	  average	  over	  the	  period,	  wheat	  yield	  was	   the	   least	   reduced	   by	   ozone	   in	   the	   area	   of	   Seibersdorf	   (7%),	   followed	   by	   Östad,	  Tervuren	   and	   Giessen	   (9%)	   and	   was	   most	   reduced	   in	   the	   area	   of	   Llubljana	   (18%),	  assuming	  no	  soil	  water	  limita>on.	  This	  reduc>on	  in	  yield	  is	  calculated	  rela>ve	  to	  that	  at	  POD3IAM	   =	   0,	   which	   is	   approximately	   equivalent	   to	   the	   ﬂux	   at	   pre-­‐industrial	   ozone	  concentra>ons	  of	  ca.	  10	  –	  15	  ppb.	  A	  rise	  in	  the	  background	  concentra>on	  of	  5	  ppb	  in	  a	  rela>vely	   low	   ozone	   year,	   for	   example	   2009,	   would	   result	   in	   addi>onal	   wheat	   yield	  reduc>on	  of	  1.8%	  	  (Seibersdorf)	  –	  2.6%	  (Ljubljana).	  	  *	  No	  signiﬁcant	  trends	  were	  observed.	  01020301998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Reduced	  wheat	  yield	  (%)YearGiessen	  (Germany)01020301998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Reduced	  wheat	  yield	  (%)YearSeibersdorf	  (Austria)01020301998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Reduced	  wheat	  yield	  (%)YearÖstad	  (Sweden)01020301998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Reduced	  wheat	  yield	  (%)YearLjubljana	  (Slovenia)	  01020301998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Reduced	  wheat	  yield	  (%)YearTervuren	  (Belgium)q  Few	  trends	  have	  been	  observed	  at	  ICP	  Vegeta>on	  monitoring	  sites	  between	  1999	  and	  2010	  regarding	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  and	  risk	  of	  ozone	  impacts	  on	  vegeta>on.	  	  	  q  Time	  series	  much	  longer	  than	  12	  years	  are	  required	  to	  dis>nguish	  signiﬁcant	  long-­‐term	  trends	  from	  inter-­‐annual	  variability	  in	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  due	  to	  climate	  varia>on.	  q  Whereas	  peak	  concentra>ons	  of	  ozone	  have	  declined	  in	  recent	  decades	  in	  some	  (but	  not	  all)	  parts	  of	  Europe,	  	  an	  increase	  in	  background	  concentra>ons	  at	  the	  same	  >me	  has	  contributed	  to	  no	  change	  in	  median	  or	  average	  ozone	  concentra>ons	  across	  Europe.	  The	  rise	  in	  background	  concentra>ons	  can	  contribute	  signiﬁcantly	  to	  impacts	  of	  ozone	  on	  vegeta>on.	  q  Ozone	  pollu>on	  in	  Europe	  in	  the	  future	  is	  cri>cally	  dependent	  on	  changes	  in	  regional	  emissions	  and	  global	  transport	  of	  ozone	  precursors.	  Key	  messages	  This	   brochure	   was	   produced	   by	   the	   ICP	   Vegeta>on,	   an	   Interna>onal	   Coopera>ve	  Programme	  repor>ng	  on	  eﬀects	  of	  air	  pollu>on	  on	  vegeta>on	  to	  the	  Working	  Group	  on	  Eﬀects	  of	  the	  UNECE	  Conven>on	  on	  Long-­‐range	  Transboundary	  Air	  Pollu>on.	  Acknowledgements	  We	  would	   like	   to	   thank	   the	  UK	  Department	   for	   Environment,	   Food	   and	  Rural	   Aﬀairs	   (Defra,	  contract	   AQ0833),	   the	   UNECE	   (Trust	   Fund)	   and	   the	   Natural	   Environment	   Research	   Council	  (NERC)	  for	  ﬁnancial	  support	  of	  the	  ICP	  Vegeta>on.	  	  We	  would	  like	  to	  thank	  the	  following	  ICP	  Vegeta>on	  par>cipants	  for	  providing	  data:	  • 	  Per	  Erik	  Karlsson,	  IVL	  Swedish	  Environmental	  Research	  Ins>tute,	  Gothenburg,	  Sweden.	  • 	  Ludwig	  De	  Temmerman,	  Karine	  Vandermeiren,	  CODA-­‐CERVA,	  Tervuren,	  Belgium.	  • 	  Gerhard	  Soja,	  AIT	  Austrian	  Ins>tute	  of	  Technology	  GmbH,	  Tulin,	  Austria.	  • 	  Frank	  Ba>c,	  Boris	  Turk,	  University	  of	  Ljubljana,	  Ljubljana,	  Slovenia.	  • 	  Cris>na	  Nali,	  University	  of	  Pisa,	  Pisa,	  Italy.	  • 	  Sally	  Power,	  Imperial	  College,	  Ascot,	  UK.	  	  • 	  Ludger	  Grünhage,	  Justus-­‐Leibig-­‐University,	  Giessen,	  Germany.	  Photos	  were	  provided	  by:	  ShuXerstock	  (UK),	  G.	  Mills	  (UK),	  F.	  Hayes	  (UK),	  D.	  Velissariou	  (Greece),	  C.	  Saitanis	  (Greece),	  M.	  Schaub	  (Switzerland).	  	  	  For	  further	  informa5on,	  please	  contact:	  Harry	  Harmens,	  Gina	  Mills	  ICP	  Vegeta>on	  Coordina>on	  Centre	  Centre	  for	  Ecology	  &	  Hydrology	  Deiniol	  Road,	  Bangor,	  Gwynedd,	  LL57	  2UW,	  UK	  Tel:	  +44	  (0)	  1248	  374500	  Email:	  hh@ceh.ac.uk,	  gmi@ceh.ac.uk	  	  This	  brochure	  and	  other	  publica>ons	  are	  also	  	  available	  at	  hXp://icpvegeta>on.ceh.ac.uk	  	  

Changing ozone profiles in Europe: implications for vegetation

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510469/7/N510469CR.pdf

Changing ozone profiles in Europe: implications for vegetation

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