Scaling ozone responses of forest trees to the ecosystem level in a changing climate

Abstract

Many uncertainties remain regarding how climate change will alter the structure and function of forest ecosystems. At the Aspen FACE experiment in northern Wisconsin, we are attempting to understand how an aspen/birch/maple forest ecosystem responds to long-term exposure to elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ozone (O₃), alone and in combination, from establishment onward. We examine how O₃ affects the flow of carbon through the ecosystem from the leaf level through to the roots and into the soil microorganisms in present and future atmospheric CO₂ conditions. We provide evidence of adverse effects of O₃, with or without co-occurring elevated CO₂, that cascade through the entire ecosystem impacting complex trophic interactions and food webs on all three species in the study: trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh).

Citation

Karnosky, D.F.; Pregitzer, K.S.; Zak, D.R.; Kubiske, M.E.; Hendrey, G.R.; Weinstein, D.; Nosal, M.; Percy, K.E. 2005. Scaling ozone responses of forest trees to the ecosystem level in a changing climate. Plant, Cell and Environment. 28: 965-981.