Pacific Southwest Research Station

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Title: Air quality

Authors: Bytnerowicz, Andrzej; Fenn, Mark; Long, Jonathan W.

Date: 2014

Publication Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-247. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 471-495. Chap. 8.1

Abstract: The major pollutants causing ecological harm in the Sierra Nevada are ozone, which can be toxic to plants, and nitrogen deposition, which can induce undesirable effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Other airborne pollutants of concern include black carbon, particulate matter (PM), pesticides, and heavy metals, including mercury. Atmospheric pollutants that are delivered in wet and dry forms cause deposition of nitrogen to forests and other land areas. The highest potential for ozone to injure plants occurs on western, low-elevation slopes that have elevated daytime levels that coincide with the highest physiological activity of plants. However, recent evaluations of ozone injury in the Sierra Nevada are lacking. Ozone and nitrogen deposition interact with other environmental stressors, especially drought and climate change, to predispose forests to impacts of pests and diseases.

Keywords: ecological restoration, socioecological systems, ecosystem resilience, forest planning, fire management, altered fire regimes, wildfire, climate change, anthropogenic disturbance, invasive species, water resources, species of conservation concern, California

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Citation

Bytnerowicz, A.; Fenn, M.; Long, J.W. 2014. Air quality. In: Long, J.W.; Quinn-Davidson, L.; Skinner, C.N., eds. Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-247. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 471-495. Chap. 8.1.