Long description:

The chapters in this book present a snapshot of the state of knowledge of air pollution effects at the beginning of the 21st century. From their different disciplines, a distinguished collection of authors document their understanding of how leaves, trees, and forests respond to air pollutants and climate change. Scenarios of global change and air pollution are described. The authors describe responses of forests to climate variability, tropospheric ozone, rising atmospheric CO2, the combination of CO2 and ozone, and deposition of acidic compounds and heavy metals. The responses to ozone receive particular attention because of increasing concern about its damaging effects and increasing concentrations in rural areas. Scaling issues are addressed - from leaves to trees, from juvenile trees to mature trees, from short-term responses to long-term responses, and from small-scale experiments and observations to large-scale forest ecosystems.

This book is one major product of a conference sponsored by the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, the USDA Forest Service Global Change Northern Stations Program, the Arthur Ross Foundation, NCASI, the Canadian Forest Service, and Michigan Technological University. The conference, held in May 2000 in Houghton, Michigan, USA, was appropriately titled "Air Pollution, Global Change, and Forests in the New Millennium". The Editors, David Karnosky, Kevin Percy, Art Chappelka, Caroline Simpson, and Janet Pikkarainen organized the conference and edited this book.

Table of Contents:

Introduction to the Book Series. List of Contributors. Foreword and Acknowledgements. Preface (R.A. Birdsey, USFS Global Change Program). Issues, Challenges and Risks. 1. Air pollution and global change: A double challenge to forest ecosystems (D.F. Karnosky, K.E. Percy et al.). 2. What is the role of demographic factors in air pollution and forests? (D.S. Shriner, D.F. Karnosky). 3. Changing atmospheric carbon dioxide: A threat or benefit? (D.F. Karnosky, P. Sharma et al.). 4. Tropopsheric ozone: A continuing threat to global forests? (K.E. Percy, A.H. Legge, S.V. Krupa). Tropospheric Ozone. 5. Regional scale risk assessment of ozone and forests (G. Gerosa, A. Ballarin-Denti).
6. Limitations and perspectives about scaling ozone impacts in trees (T.E. Kolb, R. Matyssek). 7. Simulating the growth response of aspen to elevated ozone: A mechanistic approach from leaf-level photosynthesis to complex architecture (M.J. Martin, G.E. Host et al.). 8. Ozone affects the fitness of trembling aspen (D.F. Karnosky, K. Percy et al.). 9.Responses of Aleppo pine to O3 (R. Alonso, S. Elvira et al.). 10. Ozone affects Scots pine phenology and growth (S. Manninen, R. Sorjamaa et al.). 11. Ozone affects leaf surface-pest interactions (K.E. Percy, B. Mankovska et al.). 12. Ultrastructural response of a Mediterranean shrub species to O3 (F. Bussotti, E. Gravano et al.). 13. Ozone injury symptoms on vegetation in an alpine valley, North Italy (F. Bussotti, C. Mazzali et al.). Acidic Deposition. 14. Forest growth and critical air pollutant loads in Scandinavia (C. Nellemann, M.G. Thomsen et al.). 15. Norway spruce mortality and critical air pollutant loads (M.G. Thomsen, C. Nellemann). 16.Beech foliar chemical composition: A bioindicator of air pollution stress (G. Amores, J.M. Santamaria). 17. Atmospheric contamination of a wilderness park near a smelter in northern Michigan (W. Beer, E. Jepsen, J. Roth). 18. Mycorrhizal community structure of Scots pine trees exposed to acidic deposition (M. Rudawska, B. Kieliszewska-Rokicka et al.). Interaction of Air Pollutants and Climate Change. 19.Responses of forests in the northern U.S. to air pollution and climate change (R.A. Mickler, S.G. McNulty et al.). 20. An intensive monitoring study of air pollution stress in a beech forest in Spain (J.M. Santamaria, G. Amores et al.). 21. Effects of elevated carbon dioxide and acidic rain on the growth of Holm oak (E. Paoletti, F. Manes). 22. Effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on aspen clones of varying O3 sensitivity: Can CO2 ameliorate the harmful effects of O3?(B. Wustman, E. Oksanen et al.). 23. Growth responses of aspen clones to elevated carbon dioxide and ozone (J.G. Isebrands, E.P. McDonald et al.). Conclusions and Research Needs. 24. State of science and gaps in our knowledge in relation to air pollution (M. Ferretti, J. Bucher et al.). 25. Air pollution and global change impacts on forest ecosystems: Monitoring and research needs (D.F. Karnosky, K.E. Percy et al.). Author Index. Subject Index.