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            Auburn University - University Relations
                         (334) 844-9999
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5/18/95                        Mitch Emmons

AUBURN FORESTERS STUDYING EFFECTS OF OZONE ON PLANT LIFE

      AUBURN -- Auburn University forestry researchers are responding 
to growing concerns about the effects of air pollution on forest 
ecosystems by studying pollutants caused by automobile and industrial 
emissions.
      Art Chappelka, an associate professor in the School of Forestry, 
is evaluating the effects of tropospheric ozone -- a type of pollutant 
present in the air -- on plant life. It is caused primarily by auto and 
industrial emissions and is created when the emissions react with 
ultraviolet light.
      "It's the same ozone found in smog," says Chappelka.
      Although the largest concentrations of this ozone are formed in 
urban or industrialized areas, it is also a rural problem, he says.
      "It's light and temperature driven," Chappelka says. "Here in the 
South, we have the right climate for buildup of tropospheric ozone. And 
it is an air pollutant that can drift more than 100 miles . . . from 
urban to suburban and rural areas."
      Chappelka uses techniques already proven successful in 
agricultural research that demonstrate the effects of the ozone on crops.
      "We know from earlier crop research that ozone can cause a 
reduction in growth,Ó he says.  ÒIt can also cause a reduction in yield, 
and it can affect the reproduction of a species.Ó
      Its visible effects on trees include premature discoloration and 
early loss of foliage, according to Chappelka.
      "We suspect changes in growth and productivity and that some 
species may be out-competed because of their sensitivity to ozone," he 
says. "These species could in a sense, disappear in an ozonated environment."
      Chappelka uses three separate and controlled environments to 
measure the effects of ozone on plant species. Small pine trees are 
planted inside special chambers, similar in appearance to a greenhouse, 
and competing vegetation is allowed to grow naturally.
      "This simulates conditions that are common throughout the South, 
where landowners use very little controls, allowing competing vegetation 
to grow along with the planted trees," he says.
      A pristine environment is created in one chamber by pumping in a 
continuous supply of filtered air. In another, ambient atmospheric 
conditions are created by forcing in air containing amounts of ozone 
found in the actual surrounding environment. The third chamber subjects 
plants to extreme amounts of ozone.
      "This (third chamber) simulates an urban environment," Chappelka 
says. "It also represents conditions that are anticipated in the future 
as it is projected that ozone levels will increase."
      As an added control, a fourth chamber is left open to the environment.
      Chappelka also is involved in studying the effects of the ozone 
on wilderness areas. In a project supported by the U.S. Department of 
AgricultureÕs Forest Service, he is examining the damage being caused to 
wild forests.
      "We've looked a lot at what's going on as it involves individual 
plants," he says. "We're trying now to bridge the gap between laboratory 
studies and other studies out in the field."
      Chappelka says that the ozone problem is not a local one, adding, 
ÒIt's a regional problem that gets a lot of states involved.Ó
      Although there are federal and state regulations that regulate 
emissions that create ozone, Chappelka says damage to vegetation can 
occur at levels below current allowed standards.
      "Ozone is present in the atmosphere even at low levels," he says. 
"The tropospheric ozone problem is one that has to be attacked from a 
multi-state approach."
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may95:AU-ozone                                               
CONTACT: Chappelka, 334/844-1047