MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Current and future ozone risks to global terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem processes

Author(s)
Fuhrer, Jürg; Val Martin, Maria; Mills, Gina; Heald, Colette L.; Harmens, Harry; Hayes, Felicity; Sharps, Katrina; Bender, Jürgen; Ashmore, Mike R.; ... Show more Show less
Thumbnail
DownloadCurrent and future.pdf (1.322Mb)
PUBLISHER_CC

Publisher with Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution

Terms of use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Risks associated with exposure of individual plant species to ozone (O[subcript 3]) are well documented, but implications for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem processes have received insufficient attention. This is an important gap because feedbacks to the atmosphere may change as future O[subcript 3] levels increase or decrease, depending on air quality and climate policies. Global simulation of O[subcript 3] using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) revealed that in 2000, about 40% of the Global 200 terrestrial ecoregions (ER) were exposed to O[subcript 3] above thresholds for ecological risks, with highest exposures in North America and Southern Europe, where there is field evidence of adverse effects of O[subcript 3], and in central Asia. Experimental studies show that O[subcript 3] can adversely affect the growth and flowering of plants and alter species composition and richness, although some communities can be resilient. Additional effects include changes in water flux regulation, pollination efficiency, and plant pathogen development. Recent research is unraveling a range of effects below-ground, including changes in soil invertebrates, plant litter quantity and quality, decomposition, and nutrient cycling and carbon pools. Changes are likely slow and may take decades to become detectable. CESM simulations for 2050 show that O[subcript 3] exposure under emission scenario RCP8.5 increases in all major biomes and that policies represented in scenario RCP4.5 do not lead to a general reduction in O[subcript 3] risks; rather, 50% of ERs still show an increase in exposure. Although a conceptual model is lacking to extrapolate documented effects to ERs with limited or no local information, and there is uncertainty about interactions with nitrogen input and climate change, the analysis suggests that in many ERs, O[subcript 3] risks will persist for biodiversity at different trophic levels, and for a range of ecosystem processes and feedbacks, which deserves more attention when assessing ecological implications of future atmospheric pollution and climate change.
Date issued
2017-03-15
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107409
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Journal
Ecology and Evolution
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
Fuhrer, Jürg, Maria Val Martin, Gina Mills, Colette L. Heald, Harry Harmens, Felicity Hayes, Katrina Sharps, Jürgen Bender, and Mike R. Ashmore. “Current and Future Ozone Risks to Global Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecosystem Processes.” Ecology and Evolution 6, no. 24 (November 21, 2016): 8785–8799.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
20457758

Collections
  • MIT Open Access Articles

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube RSS

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.