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Given the high ozone concentrations observed in the Mediterranean region during summer, it is crucial to extend our knowledge on the potential ozone impacts on forest health with in situ studies, especially to protect typical endemic forests of the Mediterranean basin. This study is focused on ozone measurements and exposures over the Eastern Adriatic coast and on the calculation of different O3 metrics, i.e., accumulated exposure AOT40 (AOT40dir, AOT40ICP, AOT40pheno) and stomatal O3 fluxes with an hourly threshold of uptake (Y) to represent the detoxification capacity of trees (PODY, with Y = 0, 1, 2 nmol O3 m−2 s−1) used for forest protection. Finally, we provide an assessment of the relationships between the forest response indicators and environmental variables. Passive ozone measurements and monitoring of forest health indicators, namely growth and crown defoliation, were performed for Quercus ilex, Quercus pubescens, Pinus halepensis, and Pinus nigra forests. Results showed that, for all the analysed species, ozone levels were close to reached the upper plausibility limits for passive monitoring of air quality at forest sites (100 ppb), with the highest values found on P. halepensis in the summer period. O3 metrics based on exposure were found to be higher in pine plots than in oak plots, while the highest values of uptake-based metrics were found on P. nigra. Regarding relationships between environmental variables and forest-health response indicators, the crown defoliation was significantly correlated with the soil water content at various depth while the tree growth was correlated with the different O3 metrics. The most important predictors affecting tree growth of Q. pubescens and Q. ilex were AOT40pheno and AOT40dir and POD0 for P. nigra.
Tamara Jakovljević; Lucija Lovreškov; Goran Jelić; Alessandro Anav; Ionel Popa; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Chiara Proietti; Ivan Limić; Lukrecija Butorac; Marcello Vitale; Alessandra De Marco. Impact of ground-level ozone on Mediterranean forest ecosystems health. Science of The Total Environment 2021, 783, 147063 .
AMA StyleTamara Jakovljević, Lucija Lovreškov, Goran Jelić, Alessandro Anav, Ionel Popa, Maria Francesca Fornasier, Chiara Proietti, Ivan Limić, Lukrecija Butorac, Marcello Vitale, Alessandra De Marco. Impact of ground-level ozone on Mediterranean forest ecosystems health. Science of The Total Environment. 2021; 783 ():147063.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTamara Jakovljević; Lucija Lovreškov; Goran Jelić; Alessandro Anav; Ionel Popa; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Chiara Proietti; Ivan Limić; Lukrecija Butorac; Marcello Vitale; Alessandra De Marco. 2021. "Impact of ground-level ozone on Mediterranean forest ecosystems health." Science of The Total Environment 783, no. : 147063.
In Europe, tropospheric ozone pollution appears as a major air quality issue, and ozone concentrations remain potentially harmful to vegetation. In this study we compared the trends of two ozone metrics widely used for forests protection in Europe, the AOT40 (Accumulated Ozone over Threshold of 40 ppb) which only depends on surface air ozone concentrations, and the Phytotoxic Ozone Dose which is the accumulated ozone uptake through stomata over the growing season, and above a threshold Y of uptake (PODY). By using a chemistry transport model, we found that European-averaged ground-level ozone concentrations (− 2%) and AOT40 metric (− 26.5%) significantly declined from 2000 to 2014, due to successful control strategies to reduce the emission of ozone precursors in Europe since the early 1990s. In contrast, the stomatal ozone uptake by forests increased from 17.5 to 26.6 mmol O3 m−2 despite the reduction in ozone concentrations, leading to an increase of potential ozone damage on plants in Europe. In a climate change context, a biologically-sound stomatal flux-based standard (PODY) as new European legislative standard is needed.
Chiara Proietti; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Pierre Sicard; Alessandro Anav; Elena Paoletti; Alessandra De Marco. Trends in tropospheric ozone concentrations and forest impact metrics in Europe over the time period 2000–2014. Journal of Forestry Research 2020, 32, 543 -551.
AMA StyleChiara Proietti, Maria Francesca Fornasier, Pierre Sicard, Alessandro Anav, Elena Paoletti, Alessandra De Marco. Trends in tropospheric ozone concentrations and forest impact metrics in Europe over the time period 2000–2014. Journal of Forestry Research. 2020; 32 (2):543-551.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChiara Proietti; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Pierre Sicard; Alessandro Anav; Elena Paoletti; Alessandra De Marco. 2020. "Trends in tropospheric ozone concentrations and forest impact metrics in Europe over the time period 2000–2014." Journal of Forestry Research 32, no. 2: 543-551.
Alessandra De Marco; Alessandro Anav; Pierre Sicard; Zhaozhong Feng; Elena Paoletti. High spatial resolution ozone risk-assessment for Asian forests. Environmental Research Letters 2020, 15, 104095 .
AMA StyleAlessandra De Marco, Alessandro Anav, Pierre Sicard, Zhaozhong Feng, Elena Paoletti. High spatial resolution ozone risk-assessment for Asian forests. Environmental Research Letters. 2020; 15 (10):104095.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandra De Marco; Alessandro Anav; Pierre Sicard; Zhaozhong Feng; Elena Paoletti. 2020. "High spatial resolution ozone risk-assessment for Asian forests." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 10: 104095.
Ozone (O3) is a natural component of the atmosphere. It occurs in the stratosphere, where it protects biota against ultraviolet radiation, but also in the lower troposphere, where it can directly harm biota. Because of its i) high toxicological potential for biota, ii) high reactivity and molecular instability, and iii) difficult differentiation from other reactive oxygen species, O3 challenges scientists in a continuing effort to develop methods for its monitoring. We present here the operation principles of the most used techniques, along with some new technological developments for atmospheric O3 monitoring, with emphasis upon near surface. Huge amounts of scientific data have been produced thanks to progresses in O3 monitoring technologies. However, it remains a challenge to further develop reliable methods with rapid response and high sensitivity to ambient O3, which will also be free from the disadvantages of the current technologies.
Costas J. Saitanis; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Zhaozhong Feng; Elena Paoletti; Evgenios Agathokleous. On the atmospheric ozone monitoring methodologies. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2020, 18, 40 -46.
AMA StyleCostas J. Saitanis, Pierre Sicard, Alessandra De Marco, Zhaozhong Feng, Elena Paoletti, Evgenios Agathokleous. On the atmospheric ozone monitoring methodologies. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 2020; 18 ():40-46.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCostas J. Saitanis; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Zhaozhong Feng; Elena Paoletti; Evgenios Agathokleous. 2020. "On the atmospheric ozone monitoring methodologies." Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 18, no. : 40-46.
The effect of lockdown due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on air pollution in four Southern European cities (Nice, Rome, Valencia and Turin) and Wuhan (China) was quantified, with a focus on ozone (O3). Compared to the same period in 2017–2019, the daily O3 mean concentrations increased at urban stations by 24% in Nice, 14% in Rome, 27% in Turin, 2.4% in Valencia and 36% in Wuhan during the lockdown in 2020. This increase in O3 concentrations is mainly explained by an unprecedented reduction in NOx emissions leading to a lower O3 titration by NO. Strong reductions in NO2 mean concentrations were observed in all European cities, ~53% at urban stations, comparable to Wuhan (57%), and ~65% at traffic stations. NO declined even further, ~63% at urban stations and ~78% at traffic stations in Europe. Reductions in PM2.5 and PM10 at urban stations were overall much smaller both in magnitude and relative change in Europe (~8%) than in Wuhan (~42%). The PM reductions due to limiting transportation and fuel combustion in institutional and commercial buildings were partly offset by increases of PM emissions from the activities at home in some of the cities. The NOx concentrations during the lockdown were on average 49% lower than those at weekends of the previous years in all cities. The lockdown effect on O3 production was ~10% higher than the weekend effect in Southern Europe and 38% higher in Wuhan, while for PM the lockdown had the same effect as weekends in Southern Europe (~6% of difference). This study highlights the challenge of reducing the formation of secondary pollutants such as O3 even with strict measures to control primary pollutant emissions. These results are relevant for designing abatement policies of urban pollution.
Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Evgenios Agathokleous; Zhaozhong Feng; Xiaobin Xu; Elena Paoletti; José Jaime Diéguez Rodriguez; Vicent Calatayud. Amplified ozone pollution in cities during the COVID-19 lockdown. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 735, 139542 -139542.
AMA StylePierre Sicard, Alessandra De Marco, Evgenios Agathokleous, Zhaozhong Feng, Xiaobin Xu, Elena Paoletti, José Jaime Diéguez Rodriguez, Vicent Calatayud. Amplified ozone pollution in cities during the COVID-19 lockdown. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 735 ():139542-139542.
Chicago/Turabian StylePierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Evgenios Agathokleous; Zhaozhong Feng; Xiaobin Xu; Elena Paoletti; José Jaime Diéguez Rodriguez; Vicent Calatayud. 2020. "Amplified ozone pollution in cities during the COVID-19 lockdown." Science of The Total Environment 735, no. : 139542-139542.
Ground-level ozone (O3) pollution can adversely affect human health and vegetation, thus being an important environmental issue nowadays. Ozone biological monitoring (biomonitoring) is a method of O3 monitoring by observing quantitative changes in living organisms physically present in a specific environment. Here, we provide a concise view of the field of O3 biomonitoring, along with recent advances that are expected to advance this field in the future. We also recommend that O3 biomonitoring is included in citizen science initiatives as well as in worldwide curricula of educational institutions. Policy-makers and general public may not understand biomonitoring data; hence, a major challenge is how to communicate the information to the audience in a way that permits the best comprehension.
Evgenios Agathokleous; Costas J. Saitanis; Zhaozhong Feng; Alessandra De Marco; Valda Araminiene; Marisa Domingos; Pierre Sicard; Elena Paoletti. Ozone biomonitoring: A versatile tool for science, education and regulation. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2020, 18, 7 -13.
AMA StyleEvgenios Agathokleous, Costas J. Saitanis, Zhaozhong Feng, Alessandra De Marco, Valda Araminiene, Marisa Domingos, Pierre Sicard, Elena Paoletti. Ozone biomonitoring: A versatile tool for science, education and regulation. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 2020; 18 ():7-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEvgenios Agathokleous; Costas J. Saitanis; Zhaozhong Feng; Alessandra De Marco; Valda Araminiene; Marisa Domingos; Pierre Sicard; Elena Paoletti. 2020. "Ozone biomonitoring: A versatile tool for science, education and regulation." Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 18, no. : 7-13.
Atmospheric pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is one of the major concerns in China because of its widespread and harmful impacts on human health. In recent years, multiple studies have sought to estimate the premature mortality burden from exposure to PM2.5 to inform policy decisions. However, different modeling choices have led to a wide array of results, with significant discrepancies both in the total mortality burden and in the confidence intervals. Here, we present a new comprehensive assessment of PM2.5-related mortality for China, which includes quantification of the main sources of variability, as well as of age and province-specific premature mortality trends during 2015-2018. Our approach integrates PM2.5 observations from more than 1600 monitoring stations with the output of a high-resolution (8km) regional simulation, to accurately estimate PM2.5 fields along with their uncertainty, which is generally neglected. We discuss the sensitivity of mortality estimates to the choice of the exposure-response functions (ERFs), by comparing the widely used integrated exposure response functions (IERs) to the recently developed Global Exposure Mortality Models (GEMMs). By propagating the uncertainty in baseline mortalities, PM2.5 and ERFs under a Monte Carlo framework, we show that the 95% confidence intervals of mortality estimates are considerably wider than previously reported. We thus highlight the need for more epidemiological studies to constrain ERFs and we argue that uncertainty related to PM2.5 estimate should be also incorporated in health impact assessment studies. Although the overall mortality burden remains vast in China (~1.6 million premature deaths, according to GEMMs), our results suggest that 200,000 premature deaths were avoided and 195 billion US dollars were saved in 2018 compared to 2015, bolstering the mounting evidence about the effectiveness of China's air quality policies.
Paolo Giani; Alessandro Anav; Alessandra De Marco; Zhaozhong Feng; Paola Crippa. Exploring sources of uncertainty in premature mortality estimates from fine particulate matter: the case of China. Environmental Research Letters 2020, 15, 064027 .
AMA StylePaolo Giani, Alessandro Anav, Alessandra De Marco, Zhaozhong Feng, Paola Crippa. Exploring sources of uncertainty in premature mortality estimates from fine particulate matter: the case of China. Environmental Research Letters. 2020; 15 (6):064027.
Chicago/Turabian StylePaolo Giani; Alessandro Anav; Alessandra De Marco; Zhaozhong Feng; Paola Crippa. 2020. "Exploring sources of uncertainty in premature mortality estimates from fine particulate matter: the case of China." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 6: 064027.
This study investigated visible foliar ozone (O3) injury in three deciduous tree species with different growth patterns (indeterminate, Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.; intermediate, Sorbus aucuparia L.; and determinate, Vaccinium myrtillus L.) from May to August 2018. Ozone effects on the timing of injury onset and a plant injury index (PII) were investigated using two O3 indices, i.e., AOT40 (accumulative O3 exposure over 40 ppb during daylight hours) and PODY (phytotoxic O3 dose above a flux threshold of Y nmol m−2 s−1). A new parameterization for PODY estimation was developed for each species. Measurements were carried out in an O3 free-air controlled exposure (FACE) experiment with three levels of O3 treatment (ambient, AA; 1.5 × AA; and 2.0 × AA). Injury onset was found in May at 2.0 × AA in all three species and the timing of the onset was determined by the amount of stomatal O3 uptake. It required 4.0 mmol m−2 POD0 and 5.5 to 9.0 ppm·h AOT40. As a result, A. glutinosa with high stomatal conductance (gs) showed the earliest emergence of O3 visible injury among the three species. After the onset, O3 visible injury expanded to the plant level as confirmed by increased PII values. In A. glutinosa with indeterminate growth pattern, a new leaf formation alleviated the expansion of O3 visible injury at the plant level. V. myrtillus showed a dramatic increase of PII from June to July due to higher sensitivity to O3 in its flowering and fruiting stage. Ozone impacts on PII were better explained by the flux-based index, PODY, as compared with the exposure-based index, AOT40. The critical levels (CLs) corresponding to PII = 5 were 8.1 mmol m−2 POD7 in A. glutinosa, 22 mmol m−2 POD0 in S. aucuparia, and 5.8 mmol m−2 POD1 in V. myrtillus. The results highlight that the CLs for PII are species-specific. Establishing species-specific O3 flux-effect relationships should be key for a quantitative O3 risk assessment.
Yasutomo Hoshika; Elisa Carrari; Barbara Mariotti; Sofia Martini; Alessandra De Marco; Pierre Sicard; Elena Paoletti. Flux-Based Ozone Risk Assessment for a Plant Injury Index (PII) in Three European Cool-Temperate Deciduous Tree Species. Forests 2020, 11, 82 .
AMA StyleYasutomo Hoshika, Elisa Carrari, Barbara Mariotti, Sofia Martini, Alessandra De Marco, Pierre Sicard, Elena Paoletti. Flux-Based Ozone Risk Assessment for a Plant Injury Index (PII) in Three European Cool-Temperate Deciduous Tree Species. Forests. 2020; 11 (1):82.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYasutomo Hoshika; Elisa Carrari; Barbara Mariotti; Sofia Martini; Alessandra De Marco; Pierre Sicard; Elena Paoletti. 2020. "Flux-Based Ozone Risk Assessment for a Plant Injury Index (PII) in Three European Cool-Temperate Deciduous Tree Species." Forests 11, no. 1: 82.
Elena Paoletti; Zhaozhong Feng; Alessandra De Marco; Yasutomo Hoshika; Harry Harmens; Evgenios Agathokleous; Marisa Domingos; Gina Mills; Pierre Sicard; Lu Zhang; Elisa Carrari. Challenges, gaps and opportunities in investigating the interactions of ozone pollution and plant ecosystems. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 709, 136188 .
AMA StyleElena Paoletti, Zhaozhong Feng, Alessandra De Marco, Yasutomo Hoshika, Harry Harmens, Evgenios Agathokleous, Marisa Domingos, Gina Mills, Pierre Sicard, Lu Zhang, Elisa Carrari. Challenges, gaps and opportunities in investigating the interactions of ozone pollution and plant ecosystems. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 709 ():136188.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElena Paoletti; Zhaozhong Feng; Alessandra De Marco; Yasutomo Hoshika; Harry Harmens; Evgenios Agathokleous; Marisa Domingos; Gina Mills; Pierre Sicard; Lu Zhang; Elisa Carrari. 2019. "Challenges, gaps and opportunities in investigating the interactions of ozone pollution and plant ecosystems." Science of The Total Environment 709, no. : 136188.
The grapevine (Vitis vinifera, L.) has been long since recognized as an ozone-sensitive plant. Ozone molecules can penetrate grapevine leaf tissues when the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere is high due to air pollution. This causes cell damage and interferes with photosynthetic mechanisms, subsequently slowing down plant growth and resulting in premature leaf senescence. Secondary effects include changes in biochemical processes that affect the chemical composition of the must and are likely to alter the quality of the wine. An experiment was conducted during two grapevine-growing seasons in 2010 and 2011 to gain knowledge of the effect of high ozone levels on the yield and on several biochemical characteristics of the plant which could influence the quality of the final product. These factors are economically important for agricultural production; this is especially true for Italy, which is one of the largest wine producers worldwide. The method used was a facility consisting of open top chambers operated at a vineyard in Angera (northern Italy). This facility permitted the study of the effects of different ozone levels. At the end of the experiment, the grapes were weighed and chemical analyses were carried out in order to understand the effects of ozone on the different characteristics of the grapes and on concentrations of several of its chemical substances. In particular, concentrations of yeast assimilable nitrogen, degrees Brix, pH, tartaric and malic acids, and polyphenols, including resveratrol, were considered, as these influence the quality of the wine. Parameters characterizing the different ozone levels were expressed in terms of ozone exposure (AOT40) and phytotoxic ozone dose (POD). The results showed that high ozone levels affect grapevine weight and thus its yield. In addition, the quality of the wine is affected by reductions of polyphenols which diminish the nutritional benefits of the product. In addition, these reductions cause the wine to have a more aggressive taste. These results emphasize the practical importance of the present study.
Ivano Fumagalli; Stanislaw Cieslik; Alessandra De Marco; Chiara Proietti; Elena Paoletti. Grapevine and Ozone: Uptake and Effects. Climate 2019, 7, 140 .
AMA StyleIvano Fumagalli, Stanislaw Cieslik, Alessandra De Marco, Chiara Proietti, Elena Paoletti. Grapevine and Ozone: Uptake and Effects. Climate. 2019; 7 (12):140.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIvano Fumagalli; Stanislaw Cieslik; Alessandra De Marco; Chiara Proietti; Elena Paoletti. 2019. "Grapevine and Ozone: Uptake and Effects." Climate 7, no. 12: 140.
The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of long-term exposure to PM2.5 on residents of Rome, Italy in terms of ischemic heart diseases (IHD), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), lung cancer (LC), stroke and the number of working days lost (WDL). In this study, we estimated human health impacts from long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 through application of linear RR and integrated exposure-response (IER) functions and the AirQ + software. In 2014, on average 1189, 348, 43, 301 and 387 cases of IHD, COPD, LC, stroke and WDL, respectively could be avoided in Rome if the annual mean PM2.5 concentration was reduced from 15.6 to 10.0 μg m−3. In 2014, 27.67% of IHD, 15.9% of COPD, 9.5% of LC, 19.9% of stroke as well as 2.5% of WDL are attributed to the long-term exposure to PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 10 μg m−3. This may be achieved through adoption of stringent air pollution regulations and sustainable city planning. Increase in urban green infrastructures and improving road transportation will reduce PM2.5 levels in urban environment, thereby safeguarding human health from air pollution and improving citizens’ well-being.
Patrick Amoatey; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi. Long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and impacts on health in Rome, Italy. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health 2019, 8, 531 -535.
AMA StylePatrick Amoatey, Pierre Sicard, Alessandra De Marco, Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi. Long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and impacts on health in Rome, Italy. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2019; 8 (2):531-535.
Chicago/Turabian StylePatrick Amoatey; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco; Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi. 2019. "Long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and impacts on health in Rome, Italy." Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health 8, no. 2: 531-535.
Considering the fragility of the Mediterranean environment, there is an increasing need to improve the knowledge of this forest environment. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of air pollution on the forest ecosystem’s condition by analyzing tree vitality. The study area was chosen to represent the most important and the most common species in Mediterranean forest ecosystems of the Eastern Adriatic coast. Quercus pubescens, Quercus ilex, Pinus halepensis, and Pinus nigra plots were equipped with rain collectors and dendrometer bands. Sampling, measurements, and analyses of atmospheric deposition, foliar nutrient, defoliation, and growth were all carried out. Results showed that actual N deposition loads were the lowest in Aleppo pine forest and the highest in holm oak forests. This, however, did not have an effect on the concentrations of N in foliage. Most elements’ concentrations were in the plausible range. No relevant differences in mean defoliation between the plots were observed. The plots with a lower percentage of basal area increment (BAI%) were found to have lower defoliation. The research was conducted to bridge the gap in the knowledge of air pollutants and vitality indicators in different forest types. These findings are a valuable contribution to the sustainable forest management of Mediterranean forest.
Tamara Jakovljević; Aldo Marchetto; Lucija Lovreškov; Nenad Potočić; Ivan Seletković; Krunoslav Indir; Goran Jelić; Lukrecija Butorac; Željko Zgrablić; Alessandra De Marco; Guillaume Simioni; Mladen Ognjenović; Ana Jurinjak Tušek. Assessment of Atmospheric Deposition and Vitality Indicators in Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6805 .
AMA StyleTamara Jakovljević, Aldo Marchetto, Lucija Lovreškov, Nenad Potočić, Ivan Seletković, Krunoslav Indir, Goran Jelić, Lukrecija Butorac, Željko Zgrablić, Alessandra De Marco, Guillaume Simioni, Mladen Ognjenović, Ana Jurinjak Tušek. Assessment of Atmospheric Deposition and Vitality Indicators in Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (23):6805.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTamara Jakovljević; Aldo Marchetto; Lucija Lovreškov; Nenad Potočić; Ivan Seletković; Krunoslav Indir; Goran Jelić; Lukrecija Butorac; Željko Zgrablić; Alessandra De Marco; Guillaume Simioni; Mladen Ognjenović; Ana Jurinjak Tušek. 2019. "Assessment of Atmospheric Deposition and Vitality Indicators in Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems." Sustainability 11, no. 23: 6805.
European standards for the protection of forests from ozone (O3) are based on atmospheric exposure (AOT40) that is not always representative of O3 effects since it is not a proxy of gas uptake through stomata (stomatal flux). MOTTLES "MOnitoring ozone injury for seTTing new critical LEvelS" is a LIFE project aimed at establishing a permanent network of forest sites based on active O3 monitoring at remote areas at high and medium risk of O3 injury, in order to define new standards based on stomatal flux, i.e. PODY (Phytotoxic Ozone Dose above a threshold Y of uptake). Based on the first year of data collected at MOTTLES sites, we describe the MOTTLES monitoring station, together with protocols and metric calculation methods. AOT40 and PODY, computed with different methods, are then compared and correlated with forest-health indicators (radial growth, crown defoliation, visible foliar O3 injury). For the year 2017, the average AOT40 calculated according to the European Directive was even 5 times (on average 1.7 times) the European legislative standard for the protection of forests. When the metrics were calculated according to the European protocols (EU Directive 2008/50/EC or Modelling and Mapping Manual LTRAP Convention), the values were well correlated to those obtained on the basis of the real duration of the growing season (i.e. MOTTLES method) and were thus representative of the actual exposure/flux. AOT40 showed opposite direction relative to PODY. Visible foliar O3 injury appeared as the best forest-health indicator for O3 under field conditions and was more frequently detected at forest edge than inside the forest. The present work may help the set-up of further long-term forest monitoring sites dedicated to O3 assessment in forests, especially because flux-based assessments are recommended as part of monitoring air pollution impacts on ecosystems in the revised EU National Emissions Ceilings Directive.
E. Paoletti; A. Alivernini; A. Anav; O. Badea; E. Carrari; S. Chivulescu; A. Conte; M.L. Ciriani; L. Dalstein-Richier; Alessandra De Marco; S. Fares; G. Fasano; A. Giovannelli; M. Lazzara; S. Leca; A. Materassi; V. Moretti; D. Pitar; Ionel Popa; F. Sabatini; L. Salvati; Pierre Sicard; T. Sorgi; Yasutomo Hoshika. Toward stomatal–flux based forest protection against ozone: The MOTTLES approach. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 691, 516 -527.
AMA StyleE. Paoletti, A. Alivernini, A. Anav, O. Badea, E. Carrari, S. Chivulescu, A. Conte, M.L. Ciriani, L. Dalstein-Richier, Alessandra De Marco, S. Fares, G. Fasano, A. Giovannelli, M. Lazzara, S. Leca, A. Materassi, V. Moretti, D. Pitar, Ionel Popa, F. Sabatini, L. Salvati, Pierre Sicard, T. Sorgi, Yasutomo Hoshika. Toward stomatal–flux based forest protection against ozone: The MOTTLES approach. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 691 ():516-527.
Chicago/Turabian StyleE. Paoletti; A. Alivernini; A. Anav; O. Badea; E. Carrari; S. Chivulescu; A. Conte; M.L. Ciriani; L. Dalstein-Richier; Alessandra De Marco; S. Fares; G. Fasano; A. Giovannelli; M. Lazzara; S. Leca; A. Materassi; V. Moretti; D. Pitar; Ionel Popa; F. Sabatini; L. Salvati; Pierre Sicard; T. Sorgi; Yasutomo Hoshika. 2019. "Toward stomatal–flux based forest protection against ozone: The MOTTLES approach." Science of The Total Environment 691, no. : 516-527.
At present, both tropospheric ozone (O3) and particulate matters (PM) are among the most threatening air pollutants for human health in cities. The air pollution effects over public health include increased risk of hospital admissions and mortality for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases even when air pollutant concentrations are below European and international standards. The aim of this study was to (i) estimate the burden of mortality and morbidity for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to PM2.5, PM10 and O3 in nine selected cities in France, Iran and Italy in 2015 and 2016 and to (ii) compare estimated burdens at current O3 and PM levels with pre-industrial levels. The selected Mediterranean cities are among the most affected by the air pollution in Europe, in particular by rising O3 while the selected Iranian cities rank as the most polluted by PM in the world. The software AirQ+ was used to estimate the short-term health effects, in terms of mortality and morbidity by using in situ air quality data, city-specific relative risk values and baseline incidence. Compared to pre-industrial levels, long-term exposures to ambient PM2.5, PM10 and O3 have substantially contributed to mortality and hospital admissions in selected cities: about 8200 deaths for non-accidental causes, 2400 deaths for cardiovascular diseases, 540 deaths for respiratory diseases, 220 deaths for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases as well as 18,800 hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases and 3400 for respiratory diseases were reported in 2015. The study supports the need of city-specific epidemiological data and urgent strategies to mitigate the health burden of air pollution.
Pierre Sicard; Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi; Sandra Perez; Maurizio Gualtieri; Alessandra De Marco. Effect of O3, PM10 and PM2.5 on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in cities of France, Iran and Italy. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2019, 26, 32645 -32665.
AMA StylePierre Sicard, Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi, Sandra Perez, Maurizio Gualtieri, Alessandra De Marco. Effect of O3, PM10 and PM2.5 on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in cities of France, Iran and Italy. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2019; 26 (31):32645-32665.
Chicago/Turabian StylePierre Sicard; Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi; Sandra Perez; Maurizio Gualtieri; Alessandra De Marco. 2019. "Effect of O3, PM10 and PM2.5 on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in cities of France, Iran and Italy." Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26, no. 31: 32645-32665.
China's economic growth has significantly increased emissions of tropospheric ozone (O3) precursors, resulting in increased regional O3 pollution. We analyzed data from >1400 monitoring stations and estimated the exposure of population and vegetation (crops and forests) to O3 pollution across China in 2015. Based on WHO metrics for human health protection, the current O3 level leads to +0.9% premature mortality (59,844 additional cases a year) with 96% of populated areas showing O3–induced premature death. For vegetation, O3 reduces annual forest tree biomass growth by 11–13% and yield of rice and wheat by 8% and 6%, respectively, relative to conditions below the respective AOT40 critical levels (CL). These CLs are exceeded over 98%, 75% and 83% of the areas of forests, rice and wheat, respectively. Using O3 exposure–response functions, we evaluated the costs of O3-induced losses in rice (7.5 billion US$), wheat (11.1 billion US$) and forest production (52.2 billion US$) and SOMO35–based morbidity for respiratory diseases (690.9 billion US$) and non–accidental mortality (7.5 billion US$), i.e. a total O3-related cost representing 7% of the China Gross Domestic Product in 2015.
Zhaozhong Feng; Alessandra De Marco; Alessandro Anav; Maurizio Gualtieri; Pierre Sicard; Hanqin Tian; Francesca Fornasier; F Tao; Anhong Guo; Elena Paoletti. Economic losses due to ozone impacts on human health, forest productivity and crop yield across China. Environment International 2019, 131, 104966 .
AMA StyleZhaozhong Feng, Alessandra De Marco, Alessandro Anav, Maurizio Gualtieri, Pierre Sicard, Hanqin Tian, Francesca Fornasier, F Tao, Anhong Guo, Elena Paoletti. Economic losses due to ozone impacts on human health, forest productivity and crop yield across China. Environment International. 2019; 131 ():104966.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhaozhong Feng; Alessandra De Marco; Alessandro Anav; Maurizio Gualtieri; Pierre Sicard; Hanqin Tian; Francesca Fornasier; F Tao; Anhong Guo; Elena Paoletti. 2019. "Economic losses due to ozone impacts on human health, forest productivity and crop yield across China." Environment International 131, no. : 104966.
Evaluations of ozone effects on vegetation across the globe over the last seven decades have mostly incorporated exposure levels that were multi-fold the preindustrial concentrations. As such, global risk assessments and derivation of critical levels for protecting plants and food supplies were based on extrapolation from high to low exposure levels. These were developed in an era when it was thought that stress biology is framed around a linear dose-response. However, it has recently emerged that stress biology commonly displays non-linear, hormetic processes. The current biological understanding highlights that the strategy of extrapolating from high to low exposure levels may lead to biased estimates. Here, we analyzed a diverse sample of published empirical data of approximately 500 stimulatory, hormetic-like dose-responses induced by ozone in plants. The median value of the maximum stimulatory responses induced by elevated ozone was 124%, and commonly <150%, of the background response (control), independently of species and response variable. The maximum stimulatory response to ozone was similar among types of response variables and major plant species. It was also similar among clades, between herbaceous and woody plants, between deciduous and evergreen trees, and between annual and perennial herbaceous plants. There were modest differences in the stimulatory response between genera and between families which may reflect different experimental designs and conditions among studies. The responses varied significantly upon type of exposure system, with open-top chambers (OTCs) underestimating the maximum stimulatory response compared to free-air ozone-concentration enrichment (FACE) systems. These findings suggest that plants show a generalized hormetic stimulation by ozone which is constrained within certain limits of biological plasticity, being highly generalizable, evolutionarily based, and maintained over ecological scales. They further highlight that non-linear responses should be taken into account when assessing the ozone effects on plants.
Evgenios Agathokleous; Valda Araminiene; Regina G. Belz; Vicent Calatayud; Alessandra De Marco; Marisa Domingos; Zhaozhong Feng; Yasutomo Hoshika; Mitsutoshi Kitao; Takayoshi Koike; Elena Paoletti; Costas Saitanis; Pierre Sicard; Edward J. Calabrese. A quantitative assessment of hormetic responses of plants to ozone. Environmental Research 2019, 176, 108527 .
AMA StyleEvgenios Agathokleous, Valda Araminiene, Regina G. Belz, Vicent Calatayud, Alessandra De Marco, Marisa Domingos, Zhaozhong Feng, Yasutomo Hoshika, Mitsutoshi Kitao, Takayoshi Koike, Elena Paoletti, Costas Saitanis, Pierre Sicard, Edward J. Calabrese. A quantitative assessment of hormetic responses of plants to ozone. Environmental Research. 2019; 176 ():108527.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEvgenios Agathokleous; Valda Araminiene; Regina G. Belz; Vicent Calatayud; Alessandra De Marco; Marisa Domingos; Zhaozhong Feng; Yasutomo Hoshika; Mitsutoshi Kitao; Takayoshi Koike; Elena Paoletti; Costas Saitanis; Pierre Sicard; Edward J. Calabrese. 2019. "A quantitative assessment of hormetic responses of plants to ozone." Environmental Research 176, no. : 108527.
Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi; Pierre Sicard; Afshin Takdastan; Philip K. Hopke; Adewale Taiwo; Fatemeh Omidi Khaniabadi; Alessandra De Marco; Mohammad Daryanoosh. Mortality and morbidity due to ambient air pollution in Iran. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health 2019, 7, 222 -227.
AMA StyleYusef Omidi Khaniabadi, Pierre Sicard, Afshin Takdastan, Philip K. Hopke, Adewale Taiwo, Fatemeh Omidi Khaniabadi, Alessandra De Marco, Mohammad Daryanoosh. Mortality and morbidity due to ambient air pollution in Iran. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2019; 7 (2):222-227.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYusef Omidi Khaniabadi; Pierre Sicard; Afshin Takdastan; Philip K. Hopke; Adewale Taiwo; Fatemeh Omidi Khaniabadi; Alessandra De Marco; Mohammad Daryanoosh. 2019. "Mortality and morbidity due to ambient air pollution in Iran." Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health 7, no. 2: 222-227.
Across the 28 EU member states there were nearly half a million premature deaths in 2015 as a result of exposure to PM2.5, O3 and NO2. To set the target for air quality levels and avoid negative impacts for human and ecosystems health, the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD, 2016/2284/EU) sets objectives for emission reduction for SO2, NOx, NMVOCs, NH3 and PM2.5 for each Member State as percentages of reduction to be reached in 2020 and 2030 compared to the emission levels into 2005. One of the innovations of NECD is Article 9, that mentions the issue of "monitoring air pollution impacts" on ecosystems. We provide a clear picture of what is available in term of monitoring network for air pollution impacts on Italian ecosystems, summarizing what has been done to control air pollution and its effects on different ecosystems in Italy. We provide an overview of the impacts of air pollution on health of the Italian population and evaluate opportunities and implementation of Article 9 in the Italian context, as a case study beneficial for all Member States. The results showed that SO42- deposition strongly decreased in all monitoring sites in Italy over the period 1999-2017, while NO3- and NH4+ decreased more slightly. As a consequence, most of the acid-sensitive sites which underwent acidification in the 1980s partially recovered. The O3 concentration at forest sites showed a decreasing trend. Consequently, AOT40 (the metric identified to protect vegetation from ozone pollution) showed a decrease, even if values were still above the limit for forest protection (5000 ppb h-1), while PODy (flux-based metric under discussion as new European legislative standard for forest protection) showed an increase. National scale studies pointed out that PM10 and NO2 induced about 58,000 premature deaths (year 2005), due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The network identified for Italy contains a good number of monitoring sites (6 for terrestrial ecosystem monitoring, 4 for water bodies monitoring and 11 for ozone impact monitoring) distributed over the territory and will produce a high number of monitored parameters for the implementation of the NECD.
Alessandra De Marco; Chiara Proietti; Alessandro Anav; Luisella Ciancarella; Ilaria D'Elia; Silvano Fares; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Lina Fusaro; Maurizio Gualtieri; Fausto Manes; Aldo Marchetto; Mihaela Mircea; Elena Paoletti; Antonio Piersanti; Michela Rogora; Luca Salvati; Elisabetta Salvatori; Augusto Screpanti; Giovanni Vialetto; Marcello Vitale; Cristina Leonardi. Impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health, and implications for the National Emission Ceilings Directive: Insights from Italy. Environment International 2019, 125, 320 -333.
AMA StyleAlessandra De Marco, Chiara Proietti, Alessandro Anav, Luisella Ciancarella, Ilaria D'Elia, Silvano Fares, Maria Francesca Fornasier, Lina Fusaro, Maurizio Gualtieri, Fausto Manes, Aldo Marchetto, Mihaela Mircea, Elena Paoletti, Antonio Piersanti, Michela Rogora, Luca Salvati, Elisabetta Salvatori, Augusto Screpanti, Giovanni Vialetto, Marcello Vitale, Cristina Leonardi. Impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health, and implications for the National Emission Ceilings Directive: Insights from Italy. Environment International. 2019; 125 ():320-333.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandra De Marco; Chiara Proietti; Alessandro Anav; Luisella Ciancarella; Ilaria D'Elia; Silvano Fares; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Lina Fusaro; Maurizio Gualtieri; Fausto Manes; Aldo Marchetto; Mihaela Mircea; Elena Paoletti; Antonio Piersanti; Michela Rogora; Luca Salvati; Elisabetta Salvatori; Augusto Screpanti; Giovanni Vialetto; Marcello Vitale; Cristina Leonardi. 2019. "Impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health, and implications for the National Emission Ceilings Directive: Insights from Italy." Environment International 125, no. : 320-333.
Rising temperature, drought and more-frequent extreme climatic events have been predicted for the next decades in many regions around the globe. In this framework, soil water availability plays a pivotal role in affecting vegetation productivity, especially in arid or semi-arid environments. However, direct measurements of soil moisture are scarce, and modeling estimations are still subject to biases. Further investigation on the effect of soil moisture on plant productivity is required. This study aims at analyzing spatio-temporal variations of a modified temperature vegetation wetness index (mTVWI), a proxy of soil moisture, and evaluating its effect on gross primary production (GPP) in forests. The study was carried out in Europe on 19 representative tree species during the 2000–2010 time period. Results outline a north–south gradient of mTVWI with minimum values (low soil water availability) in Southern Europe and maximum values (high soil water availability) in Northeastern Europe. A low soil water availability negatively affected GPP from 20 to 80%, as a function of site location, tree species, and weather conditions. Such a wetness index improves our understanding of water stress impacts, which is crucial for predicting the response of forest carbon cycling to drought and aridity.
Chiara Proietti; Alessandro Anav; Marcello Vitale; Silvano Fares; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Augusto Screpanti; Luca Salvati; Elena Paoletti; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco. A New Wetness Index to Evaluate the Soil Water Availability Influence on Gross Primary Production of European Forests. Climate 2019, 7, 42 .
AMA StyleChiara Proietti, Alessandro Anav, Marcello Vitale, Silvano Fares, Maria Francesca Fornasier, Augusto Screpanti, Luca Salvati, Elena Paoletti, Pierre Sicard, Alessandra De Marco. A New Wetness Index to Evaluate the Soil Water Availability Influence on Gross Primary Production of European Forests. Climate. 2019; 7 (3):42.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChiara Proietti; Alessandro Anav; Marcello Vitale; Silvano Fares; Maria Francesca Fornasier; Augusto Screpanti; Luca Salvati; Elena Paoletti; Pierre Sicard; Alessandra De Marco. 2019. "A New Wetness Index to Evaluate the Soil Water Availability Influence on Gross Primary Production of European Forests." Climate 7, no. 3: 42.
Climate change significantly modifies terrestrial ecosystems and vegetation activity, yet little is known about how climate change and ozone pollution interact to affect forest health. Here we compared the trends of two metrics widely used to protect forests against negative impacts of ozone pollution, the AOT40 (Accumulated Ozone over Threshold of 40 ppb) which only depends on surface air ozone concentrations, and the POD (Phytotoxic Ozone Dose) which relies on the amount of ozone uptaken by plants through stomata. Using a chemistry transport model, driven by anthropogenic emission inventories, we found that European-averaged ground-level ozone concentrations significantly declined (−1.6%) over the time period 2000–2014, following successful control strategies to reduce the ozone precursors emission; as a consequence, the AOT40 metric declined (−22%). In contrast, climate change increased both growing season length (~7 days/decade) and stomatal conductance and thus enhanced the stomatal ozone uptake by forests (5.9%), leading to an overall increase of potential ozone damage on plants, despite the reduction in ozone concentrations. Our results suggest that stomatal-flux based strategies of forest protection against ozone in a changing climate require a proper consideration of the duration of the growing season with a better estimation of start and end of the growing season.
Alessandro Anav; Alessandra De Marco; Pierre Friedlingstein; Flavia Savi; Pierre Sicard; Stephen Sitch; Marcello Vitale; Elena Paoletti. Growing season extension affects ozone uptake by European forests. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 669, 1043 -1052.
AMA StyleAlessandro Anav, Alessandra De Marco, Pierre Friedlingstein, Flavia Savi, Pierre Sicard, Stephen Sitch, Marcello Vitale, Elena Paoletti. Growing season extension affects ozone uptake by European forests. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 669 ():1043-1052.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandro Anav; Alessandra De Marco; Pierre Friedlingstein; Flavia Savi; Pierre Sicard; Stephen Sitch; Marcello Vitale; Elena Paoletti. 2019. "Growing season extension affects ozone uptake by European forests." Science of The Total Environment 669, no. : 1043-1052.