Ozone Bioindicators and Forest Health
Ozone Bioindicators and Forest Health

Author: Gretchen Cole Smith

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13:

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In 1994, the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Forest Health Monitoring programs of the U.S. Forest Service implemented a national ozone (O3) biomonitoring program designed to address specific questions about the area and percent of forest land subject to levels of O3 pollution that may negatively affect the forest ecosystem. This is the first and only nationally consistent effort to monitor O3 stress on the forests of the United States. This report provides background information on O3 and its effects on trees and ecosystems, and describes the rationale behind using sensitive bioindicator plants to detect O3 stress and assess the risk of probable O3 impact. Also included are a description of field methods, analytic techniques, estimation procedures, and how to access, use and interpret the ozone bioindicator attributes and data outputs such as the national ozone risk map.

Ozone Bioindicator Sampling and Estimation
Ozone Bioindicator Sampling and Estimation

Author: Gretchen Cole Smith

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13:

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Ozone is an important forest stressor that has been measured at known phytotoxic levels at forest locations across the United States. The ozone bioindicator data of the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) are the only source of information available that documents plant injury from air pollution using consistent protocols. This document introduces the FIA ozone indicator and describes the sampling and estimation procedures of the national biomonitoring program. It provides background material on ozone, examples of bioindicator summary statistics, a description of spatial interpolation, and methods to estimate status and change in forested areas with respect to the occurrence of ozone injury from ambient ozone concentrations. The goal is to provide guidance to analysts and researchers on ways to incorporate ozone bioindicator data into reports and research studies.