摘要
Elevated concentrations of ground-level ozone (O(3)) are frequently measured over farmland regions in many parts of the world. While numerous experimental studies show that O(3) can significantly decrease crop productivity, independent verifications of yield losses at current ambient O(3) concentrations in rural locations are sparse. In this study, soybean crop yield data during a 5-year period over the Midwest of the United States were combined with ground and satellite O(3) measurements to provide evidence that yield losses on the order of 10% could be estimated through the use of a multiple linear regression model. Yield loss trends based on both conventional ground-based instrumentation and satellite-derived tropospheric O(3) measurements were statistically significant and were consistent with results obtained from open-top chamber experiments and an open-air experimental facility (SoyFACE, Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment) in central Illinois. Our analysis suggests that such losses are a relatively new phenomenon due to the increase in background tropospheric O(3) levels over recent decades. Extrapolation of these findings supports previous studies that estimate the global economic loss to the farming community of more than $10 billion annually. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
- 出版日期2010-6