Assessment of ozone visible symptoms in the field: perspectives of quality control (original) (raw)

Field surveys of ozone symptoms in Europe. Problems, reliability and significance for ecosystems

The ICP-Forest program for the monitoring of forest conditions includes the assessment of ozone symptoms in the European forests. This contribute to discussion points out the problems related to the recognition of such symptoms, with a special focus on the difficulties to extend the results obtained in experimental conditions to woody plant species growing in the field. Non specific symptoms (such as reddening, yellowing, early senescence and leaf loss), and the concurrent action of modifying factors (high light, drought, nutrient deficiency, pest attack and fungi) make the recognition elusive. In these cases, the action of ozone cannot be proven or excluded with “ad hoc” experiments. Apparently “good” bioindicators (Rubus sp. Cornus sp. pl., Prunus sp. pl., Viburnum sp. pl. etc.) are not suitable to assess the impact of ozone on vegetation. Symptoms are not necessarily related to the ozone dose taken up by stomata, and don’t are reliable indicator for biomass and productivity losse...

Field Surveys of Ozone Symptoms on Spontaneous Vegetation. Limitations and Potentialities of the European Programme

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2006

Within the European intensive forest monitoring programme, the native vegetation on permanent Level II plots has been monitored for visible ozone injuries. The main purpose of the programme is to assess the potential risks for the forest vegetation and the natural ecosystems at the intensive monitoring plots. During the first years of the programme the surveys were qualitative, reporting only the number and the name of the symptomatic species in selected Light Exposed Sampling Site. In 2003 a new plot design was tested, based on the distribution of a number of miniplots along the edge of the forest, so as to obtain quantitative findings about the occurrence and distribution of the symptoms. The problems that still persist are related to: (i) the forest edge assessed for ozone symptoms may have a different floristic composition from the Level II plot itself; (ii) the anthropic pressure and the disturbances affecting the forest edge alters the floristic composition; (iii) the variability of the plant composition in the forest edge, which makes comparability difficult between different sites; and (iv) the evaluation of symptoms in several species that have not yet been experimentally tested. Further difficulties are due to the fact that symptoms observed in the field are often aspecific and cannot, therefore, be attributed solely to the phytotoxic action of ozone. To improve the effectiveness of the European programme, it is necessary: (i) to individualise and select common sensitive plant species for homogeneous ecological regions; (ii) to enhance experimental activities to test the sensitivity of a large number of plant species.

Validation of leaf ozone symptoms in natural vegetation using microscopical methods

''Capsule'': Integration of markers of oxidative stress, from the subcellular to the leaf and needle level, proved to be a useful tool for the differential diagnosis and validation of ozone injury. Abstract Ozone injury to natural vegetation is being increasingly surveyed throughout the northern hemisphere. There exists a growing list of species showing visible 'ozone-like' symptoms which needs to be validated. This study presents the results from a test survey of ozone injury to forest vegetation in the light exposed sites of five Swiss level II plots, for the new ICP-Forests protocol. With AOT40 from 14 to 28 ppm. h in 2000, ten out of 49 woody plant species displayed typical symptoms, and four showed untypical symptoms. Symptom origin was investigated in nine and validated in seven species, using morphological, histological and cellular markers of oxidative stress and ozone-induced plant response. Independent of taxonomic position, ozone effects were characterized by the induction of oxidative stress in the mesophyll resulting in discrete and light-dependent hypersensitive-like responses and in accelerated cell senescence. The presented combination of cellular and morphological markers allows differential diagnosis of visible ozone injury.

Flux-Based Ozone Risk Assessment for a Plant Injury Index (PII) in Three European Cool-Temperate Deciduous Tree Species

Forests

This study investigated visible foliar ozone (O3) injury in three deciduous tree species with different growth patterns (indeterminate, Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.; intermediate, Sorbus aucuparia L.; and determinate, Vaccinium myrtillus L.) from May to August 2018. Ozone effects on the timing of injury onset and a plant injury index (PII) were investigated using two O3 indices, i.e., AOT40 (accumulative O3 exposure over 40 ppb during daylight hours) and PODY (phytotoxic O3 dose above a flux threshold of Y nmol m−2 s−1). A new parameterization for PODY estimation was developed for each species. Measurements were carried out in an O3 free-air controlled exposure (FACE) experiment with three levels of O3 treatment (ambient, AA; 1.5 × AA; and 2.0 × AA). Injury onset was found in May at 2.0 × AA in all three species and the timing of the onset was determined by the amount of stomatal O3 uptake. It required 4.0 mmol m−2 POD0 and 5.5 to 9.0 ppm·h AOT40. As a result, A. glutinosa with high...

Active Biomonitoring of Ecotoxicological Effects from Tropospheric Ozone Impact on Representative Tree Species

Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment, 2009

CITATIONS 0 READS 25 5 authors, including: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Changes in photosynthesis, water regime and antioxidant defence system, induced by beech weevil (Orchestes fagi L.) in common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) View project BG03.PDP2: Methodological assistance for ecosystems assessment and biophysical valuation EEA-Norway grant View project Nikolina PENKOVA Tzvetkova University of Forestry 41 PUBLICATIONS 84 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Svetla Bratanova-Doncheva