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Effects of Oxidant Air-pollution on Needle Health and Annual-ring Width in a Ponderosa Pine Forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Wayne T. Williams
Affiliation:
The Black Apple Institute, 6625 Hillgrove Drive, San Diego, California 92120, USA.
JoAnne Ackermann Williams
Affiliation:
The Black Apple Institute, 6625 Hillgrove Drive, San Diego, California 92120, USA.

Extract

More than 485,000 hectares of the Ponderosa Pine forests in the southern Sierra Nevada of California are diseased as a result of air pollution, while approximately 25% of the area of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park receives enough oxidant air-pollution to elicit symptoms of smog injury on Ponderosa Pine, the dominant mid-elevation tree.

In 1983 we re-examined four permanent study plots that had been established in 1974–75. Smog symptoms on current needles in 1983 occurred on 23.8% of the trees compared with 14.5% only in 1975. Second-year needles had 60.7% showing symptoms compared with 44.2% in 1975. Less than 0.5% of the trees retained 6-years-old needles, and 21% had only 2 years of needle retention. Mortality attributed to air pollution was observed.

Type
Main Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1986

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