Dataset Information

Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

ABSTRACT: Elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations induce adverse effects in plants. We reviewed how ozone affects (i) the composition and diversity of plant communities by affecting key physiological traits; (ii) foliar chemistry and the emission of volatiles, thereby affecting plant-plant competition, plant-insect interactions, and the composition of insect communities; and (iii) plant-soil-microbe interactions and the composition of soil communities by disrupting plant litterfall and altering root exudation, soil enzymatic activities, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. The community composition of soil microbes is consequently changed, and alpha diversity is often reduced. The effects depend on the environment and vary across space and time. We suggest that Atlantic islands in the Northern Hemisphere, the Mediterranean Basin, equatorial Africa, Ethiopia, the Indian coastline, the Himalayan region, southern Asia, and Japan have high endemic richness at high ozone risk by 2100.

SUBMITTER: Agathokleous E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7423369 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

Agathokleous Evgenios E Feng Zhaozhong Z Oksanen Elina E Sicard Pierre P Wang Qi Q Saitanis Costas J CJ Araminiene Valda V Blande James D JD Hayes Felicity F Calatayud Vicent V Domingos Marisa M Veresoglou Stavros D SD Peñuelas Josep J Wardle David A DA De Marco Alessandra A Li Zhengzhen Z Harmens Harry H Yuan Xiangyang X Vitale Marcello M Paoletti Elena E

Science advances 20200812 33

Elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations induce adverse effects in plants. We reviewed how ozone affects (i) the composition and diversity of plant communities by affecting key physiological traits; (ii) foliar chemistry and the emission of volatiles, thereby affecting plant-plant competition, plant-insect interactions, and the composition of insect communities; and (iii) plant-soil-microbe interactions and the composition of soil communities by disrupting plant litterfall and altering root ex ...[more]

PMID: 32851188

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Project description:Risks associated with exposure of individual plant species to ozone (O3) 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 O3 levels increase or decrease, depending on air quality and climate policies. Global simulation of O3 using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) revealed that in 2000, about 40% of the Global 200 terrestrial ecoregions (ER) were exposed to O3 above thresholds for ecological risks, with highest exposures in North America and Southern Europe, where there is field evidence of adverse effects of O3, and in central Asia. Experimental studies show that O3 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 belowground, 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 O3 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 O3 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, O3 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.

Dataset Information

Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

Publications

Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

Similar Datasets

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