Narrow Results

We summarize effects of ground-level ozone (O₃) on plants beginning at the atmosphere–leaf interface, and then following with responses at the cellular level and the resulting foliar injury leading to impacts on plant growth. Impacts on crop yield are discussed with the potential for improving O₃ tolerance through plant breeding. Impacts of O₃ on trees are analyzed with reference to ecosystem functioning and trophic interactions. Facilities to investigate O₃ effects on vegetation, O₃ phytotoxicity metrics, and O₃-protectant chemicals are described.

Our planet’s environment is changing rapidly, and this poses an ever-increasing risk to human health and our food systems. Changes such as agricultural land degradation, water shortages, rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns can affect yields and nutrient levels of crops used for human food and animal feed, threatening food security and nutrition (Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007)…