Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production
Ensuring global food security requires a comprehensive understanding of environmental pressures on food production, including the impacts of air quality. Surface ozone damages plants and decreases crop production; this effect has been extensively studied. In contrast, the presence of particulate mat...
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| Format: | Article |
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Copernicus Publications
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117275 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-2490 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2894-5738 |
| _version_ | 1811094383499411456 |
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| author | Schiferl, Luke Daniel Heald, Colette L. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Schiferl, Luke Daniel Heald, Colette L. |
| author_sort | Schiferl, Luke Daniel |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Ensuring global food security requires a comprehensive understanding of environmental pressures on food production, including the impacts of air quality. Surface ozone damages plants and decreases crop production; this effect has been extensively studied. In contrast, the presence of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can be beneficial to crops given that enhanced light scattering leads to a more even and efficient distribution of photons which can outweigh total incoming radiation loss. This study quantifies the impacts of ozone and PM on the global production of maize, rice, and wheat in 2010 and 2050. We show that accounting for the growing season of these crops is an important factor in determining their air pollution exposure. We find that the effect of PM can offset much, if not all, of the reduction in yield associated with ozone damage. Assuming maximum sensitivity to PM, the current (2010) global net impact of air quality on crop production varies by crop (+5.6, -3.7, and +4.5% for maize, wheat, and rice, respectively). Future emissions scenarios indicate that attempts to improve air quality can result in a net negative effect on crop production in areas dominated by the PM effect. However, we caution that the uncertainty in this assessment is large, due to the uncertainty associated with crop response to changes in diffuse radiation; this highlights that a more detailed physiological study of this response for common cultivars is crucial. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:59:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/117275 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:59:11Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1172752022-09-29T17:29:03Z Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production Schiferl, Luke Daniel Heald, Colette L. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Schiferl, Luke Daniel Heald, Colette L. Ensuring global food security requires a comprehensive understanding of environmental pressures on food production, including the impacts of air quality. Surface ozone damages plants and decreases crop production; this effect has been extensively studied. In contrast, the presence of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can be beneficial to crops given that enhanced light scattering leads to a more even and efficient distribution of photons which can outweigh total incoming radiation loss. This study quantifies the impacts of ozone and PM on the global production of maize, rice, and wheat in 2010 and 2050. We show that accounting for the growing season of these crops is an important factor in determining their air pollution exposure. We find that the effect of PM can offset much, if not all, of the reduction in yield associated with ozone damage. Assuming maximum sensitivity to PM, the current (2010) global net impact of air quality on crop production varies by crop (+5.6, -3.7, and +4.5% for maize, wheat, and rice, respectively). Future emissions scenarios indicate that attempts to improve air quality can result in a net negative effect on crop production in areas dominated by the PM effect. However, we caution that the uncertainty in this assessment is large, due to the uncertainty associated with crop response to changes in diffuse radiation; this highlights that a more detailed physiological study of this response for common cultivars is crucial. Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainability Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab 2018-08-06T15:13:15Z 2018-08-06T15:13:15Z 2018-04 2018-04 2018-08-03T13:31:37Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1680-7324 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117275 Schiferl, Luke D., and Colette L. Heald. “Particulate Matter Air Pollution May Offset Ozone Damage to Global Crop Production.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 8 (April 27, 2018): 5953–5966. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-2490 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2894-5738 http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5953-2018 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Copernicus Publications European Geosciences Union |
| spellingShingle | Schiferl, Luke Daniel Heald, Colette L. Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| title | Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| title_full | Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| title_fullStr | Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| title_full_unstemmed | Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| title_short | Particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| title_sort | particulate matter air pollution may offset ozone damage to global crop production |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117275 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-2490 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2894-5738 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT schiferllukedaniel particulatematterairpollutionmayoffsetozonedamagetoglobalcropproduction AT healdcolettel particulatematterairpollutionmayoffsetozonedamagetoglobalcropproduction |