United States Department of Agriculture Ozone Bioindicators and Forest Forest Service Health: A Guide to the Evaluation, Northern Research Station Analysis, and Interpretation of the General Technical Report NRS-34 Ozone Injury Data in the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program Gretchen C. Smith John W. Coulston Barbara M. O’Connell Abstract 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. The Authors GRETCHEN C. SMITH, National Ozone Field Advisor, University of Massachusetts, Department of Natural Resources Conservation, Amherst, MA. [email protected] JOHN W. COULSTON, National Ozone Advisor and Supervisory Research Forester, U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Knoxville, TN. [email protected] BARBARA M. O’CONNELL, Forester, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Newtown Square, PA. [email protected] Acknowledgments The ozone biomonitoring program began in the early 1990s and has succeeded due to the persistent efforts of numerous investigators, regional trainers, and state forest health coordinators. The authors wish to extend special thanks to the following individuals: Ed Jepsen, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Bill Smith, Dan Stratton, and John Simpson, U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station; Melissa Patterson and Joel Thompson, U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station; Vicki Sanderford and Jeff Herrick, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC; and Patrick Temple, Ecological Systems Group, Riverside, CA. We also thank the regional field crews and quality assurance staff for their efforts and commitment to data quality, and the many private landowners who generously allow us on their land. Without them the national ozone biomonitoring program would not be possible. We thank Sally Campbell, Don Davis, Ed Jepsen, and Will McWilliams for reviewing the manuscript; and Chris Bergweiler, Dan Duriscoe, Ron Kelley, Bob Kohut, Bill Manning, Howie Neufeld, Jim Renfro, and Pat Temple for providing excellent photographs of ozone injury. Cover Photos Front top right courtesy of Pat Temple, U.S. Forest Service; all others courtesy of Gretchen Smith, University of Massachusetts. Front Top left: ozone injury assessment along a field edge at a biosite in New Hampshire. Top right: ozone chlorotic mottle on ponderosa pine in California. Bottom left: field evaluation of black cherry at a biosite in Vermont. Bottom right: leaves with obvious injury collected in the field for quality assurance purposes. Back Left: plant press used in the field to preserve leaf samples for later examination by regional experts. Right: hand lens used in the field for close examination of leaves for ozone injury. Manuscript received for publication 10 April 2008 CONTENTS Introduction........................................................................................................1 . Program.History...............................................................................................1 Ozone the Air Pollutant.....................................................................................2 . Ozone.Formation,.Sources,.and.Transport......................................................2 . Ambient.Concentrations.and.Exposure.Patterns.............................................3 . Ozone.Uptake.and.Plant.Response................................................................5 Evidence that Ozone Injures Trees..................................................................7 . Foliar.Injury......................................................................................................8 . Growth.and.Vigor.............................................................................................9 Western.Pines.and.Associated.Species....................................................10 Eastern.White.Pine....................................................................................11 Trembling.Aspen.and.Aspen.Clones.........................................................11 Black.Cherry..............................................................................................12 Other.Eastern.Species..............................................................................12 . Ecosystem.Effects.........................................................................................13 Ozone Biomonitoring and Forest Health Assessment................................15 . The.Conceptual.Model...................................................................................16 . Assessment.Questions..................................................................................18 . Issues.of.Uncertainty.....................................................................................18 . Forest.Health.Assessment.at.the.State.and.Regional.Levels........................19 Data Collection and Estimation......................................................................20 . National.Protocol...........................................................................................20 . Field.Methods................................................................................................22 . Quality.Assurance..........................................................................................24 Performance.Evaluations.and.MQOs........................................................25 . Estimation.Methods.......................................................................................26 Database Structure and Documentation.......................................................27 . Field.Data......................................................................................................27 . Standard.Summary.Tables.and.Derived.Ozone.Data....................................28 Ozone.Biosite.Summary.Table..................................................................28 Ozone.Plot.Summary.Table.......................................................................28 Ozone.Species.Summary.Table................................................................29 . Population-level.Core.Tables.and.Maps........................................................30 . Validation.Data.Table.....................................................................................30 Crosswalks and Site Identification Data........................................................31 Data Summaries..............................................................................................31 . National.Program.Summary..........................................................................31 Regional.Summaries.and.State.Reports...................................................37 Analytical Procedures and Risk Assessment...............................................46 . Population.Estimates.....................................................................................46 . The.National.Ozone.Risk.Map.......................................................................47 . Link.to.Evaluation.Monitoring.........................................................................50 . Link.to.Air.Quality.Standards.........................................................................51 . Advantages.and.Disadvantages.of.the.Data.................................................53 Summary and Recommendations.................................................................55 . Summary.Comments.....................................................................................55 . Recommendations.........................................................................................56 References.......................................................................................................58 Appendix I.—Key Resources and Web Sites................................................73 . Air.Quality.Data.and.the.2008.Revised.Ozone.Standard..............................73 . Air.Quality.Indices..........................................................................................73 . Research.Studies.and.Educational.Material..................................................73 . Peer-reviewed.Journals.................................................................................74 . Air.Pollution.Workshop...................................................................................74 . Climate.Change.Issues.and.Links.................................................................75 Appendix 2.—National Maps of Ozone Air Quality.......................................76 Appendix 3.—Field Images of Ozone Injury on Eastern and Western Bioindicator Species...................................................................................78 Appendix 4.—Ozone Sensitivity of Tree and Shrub Species......................83