THE GREENHOUSE-EFFECT - THE IMPACTS OF CARBON-DIOXIDE (CO2), ULTRAVIOLET-B (UV-B) RADIATION AND OZONE (O3) ON VEGETATION (CROPS)

Man's influence on the 'greenhouse effect,' the heating of the atmosphere due to increasing concentrations of tropospheric trace gases, is of much international concern. Among the climatic variables, elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation and ozone (O3) are known to have a direct effect on vegetation. Our current knowledge of these effects is mainly based on studies involving single stress mode. Thus, the joint effects of CO2, UV-B and O3 on vegetation are poorly understood. Nevertheless, based on the literature analysis of plant response to individual stress factors, it can be concluded that sorghum, pea, bean, potato, oat, lettuce, cucumber, rice and tomato are among the crop species potentially sensitive to the joint effects of the aforementioned three variables. Similar information for tree species is essentially lacking. At least with some climatic variables such as O3, present modeling efforts of cause-effect relationships have proven to be controversial. While at a regional geographic scale ambient CO2 concentrations appear to be relatively homogeneous, ambient concentrations of O3 exhibit significant temporal and spatial variability. Because of the protective action of O3 against UV-B, similar but inverse temporal and spatial variability is expected in the surface levels of UV-B. Thus, future experimental designs should consider these exposure dynamics and modeling cause-effect relationships should be directed to stochastic processes.