Emerging challenges of ozone impacts on Asian plants: Actions are needed to protect ecosystem health

Abstract

Ozone concentrations near the land surface are rising in Asia while they are declining or stagnating in Europe and North America. Ozone is the most widespread air pollutant negatively affecting vegetation, and its increased concentrations pose a major threat to food quality and production and other ecosystem services in Asia. In this review, we provide an overview of scientific challenges in the impacts of ozone pollution on Asian vegetation, and synthesize the challenges toward mitigation of the impacts. We argue that new policy initiatives need to seek both reduction of ozone levels and enhancement of plant tolerance to ozone to maintain food quality and ensure food supplies. The scientific advancements must be transferred to actions by two types of institutions: a) environmental agencies for reducing ozone levels and b) agricultural research institutions for enhancing plant tolerance to ozone. In connecting the scientific advancements with the institutional actions, scientists in Asian countries should play the key role taking advantages of interdisciplinary and international collaborations.

Keywords

• asia
• air pollution monitoring
• ecosystem health
• environmental regulation
• ozone impact mitigation
• vegetation