Air Quality, Climate Change, and Their Possible Impacts on the Terrestrial Ecosystems of the North American Great Plains

  • Sagar V. Krupa
  • Allan H. Legge
Chapter
Part of the Ecology, Economy & Environment book series (ECEE, volume 5)

Abstract

The chemical climate (air quality) of the atmosphere is as important as its physical climate (temperature, precipitation). The two components are fundamentally interrelated. The earth has evolved in an atmosphere of life-supporting chemical constituents and has a certain ability for equilibrium and resilience to absorb changes in this chemical climate (Lovelock 1987). However, problems arise when the system becomes overloaded (such as possible global warming). The concentrations of many atmospheric trace gases, gases that occur in relatively small concentrations but are very important, positively or negatively, to life on earth, have been increasing since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. For example, ambient concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased from roughly 280 parts per million at the turn of the century to the present concentrations of about 350 to 360 parts per million (EarthQuest 1990). Many trace gases, when present in high enough concentrations over sufficient duration, can adversely affect ecosystems.

Keywords

Sulfur Dioxide Great Plain Nitrogen Oxide Tropospheric Ozone National Atmospheric Deposition Program 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Biggs, R. H. 1990. Effects of increased UV-B radiation on forest responses. Presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Paper no. 90–152.3, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 24–29).Google Scholar
  2. Caspary, H. J. 1989. Water yield changes in catchments as an ecohydrological indicator of forest decline. In Proceedings of the International Congress on Forest Decline Research: State of knowledge and perspectives, Lake Constance, Federal Republic of Germany (Oct. 2–6).Google Scholar
  3. Cess, R. D. 1976. Climate change-Appraisal of atmospheric feedback mechanisms employing zonal climatology.Journal of Atmospheric Science 33:1831–1843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Cicerone, R. J. 1987. Changes in stratospheric ozone. Science 237:35–42.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Cutchis, P. 1974. Stratospheric ozone depletion and solar ultraviolet radiation on earth. Science 184: 13–19.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Dekker, W. L., and V. R. Achununi. 1990. Greenhouse wanning and agriculture. Presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Paper no. 90–151.2, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 24–29).Google Scholar
  7. EarthQuest. 1990. Vol. 4(2): 1–20, Boulder, Colorado: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.Google Scholar
  8. Frederick, J. E., H. E. Snell, and E. K. Haywood. 1989. Solar ultraviolet radiation at the earth’s surface. Photochemistry and Photobiology 50(8):443–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Houghton, R. A., and G. M. Woodwell. 1989. Global climatic change. Scientific American 4:36–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Isaksen, I. S. A., and F. Stordal. 1986. Ozone perturbations by enhanced levels of chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide (N20) and methane: A two-dimensional diabatic circulation study including uncertainty estimates. Journal of Geophysical Research 91(D4):5249–5263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Johnston, H. S. 1971. Reduction of stratospheric ozone by nitrogen oxide catalysts from supersonic transport exhaust. Science 173:517–522.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Karl, T. R., G. Kukla, V. N. Razuavayev, N. Vyacheslav, M. Changery, R. G. Quayle, R. R. Heim, D. R. Easterling, and B. F. Cong. 1991. Global warming: Evidence for symmetric diurnal temperature change. Geophysical Research Letter 18:2252–2256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Kickert, R. N., and S. V. Krupa. 1990. Forest responses to tropospheric ozone and global climate change: An analysis. Environmental Pollution 68:29–65.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. . 1991. Modeling plant response to tropospheric ozone: A critical review. Environmental Pollution 70(2):271–383.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Krupa, S. V., and R. N. Kickert. 1989. The greenhouse effect: Impacts of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, carbon dioxide (CO2), and ozone (O3) on vegetation. Environmental Pollution 61(4):263–393.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. . 1993. The greenhouse effect: The impacts of carbon dioxide (CO2), ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation,and ozone (O3) on vegetation (crops). Vegetatio 104/105:321–328.Google Scholar
  17. Legge, A. H., and S. V. Krupa (ed.). 1990. Acidic deposition: Sulphur and nitrogen oxides. Chelsea, Michigan: Lewis Publishers.Google Scholar
  18. Lovelock, J. E. 1987. Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  19. Marie, B. H., and D. P. Ormrod. 1990. Effects of tropospheric ozone on plants in the context of climate change. Presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Paper no. 90–151.3, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 24–29).Google Scholar
  20. Molina, M. J., and F. S. Rowland. 1974. Stratospheric sink for chlorofluoromethanes: Chlorine atom catalyzed destruction of ozone. Nature 249:810–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). 1990. National Trends Network Annual Data Summary. Fort Collins, Colorado: NADP.Google Scholar
  22. Parry, M. L. 1990. Climate change and world agriculture. London: Earthscan, in association with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and United Nations Environment Programme.Google Scholar
  23. Pruchniewicz, P. G. 1973. The average tropospheric ozone content and its variation with season and latitude as a result of the global ozone circulation. Pure and Applied Geophysics 106:1058–1073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Ramanathan, V., R. D. Cess, E. F. Harrison, P. Minnis, B. R. Barkstrom, E. Ahmad, and D. Hartmann. 1989. Cloud-radiative forcing and climate: Results from the earth radiation budget experiment. Science 243:57–63.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Rogers, H. H., and R. C. Dahlman. 1990. Influence of more CO2 on crops. Presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Paper no. 90–151.1, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 24–29).Google Scholar
  26. Runeckles, V. C, and S. V. Krupa. 1994. The impact of UV-B radiation and ozone on terrestrial vegetation. Environmental Pollution 83:191–213.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Scotto, J., G. Cotton, F. Urbach, D. Berger, and T. Fears. 1988. Biologically effective ultraviolet radiation: Surface measurements in the United States, 1974 to 1985. Science 239:762–764.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Shinn, J. H. 1990. Effects of increased CO2 on forest response. Presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Paper no. 90–152.2, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 24–29).Google Scholar
  29. Teramura, A. H., and J. H. Sullivan. 1988. Effects of ultraviolet-B radiation on soybean yield and seed quality: A six-year field study. Environmental Pollution 53(1–4):466–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1989. The 1985 NAPAP emissions inventory (Version 2): Development of the annual data and modeler’s tapes. Document no. EPA-600/7-89-012a. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: USEPA, Office of Research and Development.Google Scholar
  31. . 1992. National air quality and emissions trends report, 1991. Document no. EPA-450/R-92-061. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: USEPA, Office of Research and Development.Google Scholar
  32. U.S. NAPAP (National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program). 1989. Models planned for use in the NAPAP integrated assessment. Washington, D.C.: U.S. NAPAP.Google Scholar
  33. 1990. Draft of final assessment report, Vols. 1–3. Washington, D.C.: U.S. NAPAP.Google Scholar
  34. Wuebbles, D. J., K. E. Grant, P. S. Connell, and J. E. Penner. 1989. The role of atmospheric chemistry in climate change. Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association 39:22–28.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1995

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sagar V. Krupa
    • 1
  • Allan H. Legge
    • 2
  1. 1.University of MinnesotaUSA
  2. 2.Biosphere SolutionsCanada

Personalised recommendations