<< Back 8/21/02 Purchase Knob researchers examine effects of ozone By Don Hendershot Biologist Dr. Howard Neufeld says researchers have known for more than 20 years that ozone damages some plants. However, according to Neufeld, who has been studying the effects of ozone in the Smokies since the late 1980s, there are more questions than answers. “We’re just beginning to scratch the surface,” said Neufeld, a professor at Appalachian State University in Boone. Neufied is leading a group of researchers studying the effects of ozone on plants in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some of the questions Neufeld and his associates are trying to answer include; why are some plants more susceptible to ozone damage?; what effects different levels of ozone have on different plants?; what defense mechanisms do plants have regarding ozone and could plant species be used as indicators for air quality? Thanks to a grant from National Geographic, Neufeld, Art Chappelka of Auburn University, Alan Davison of Newcastle University, England, Kent Burkey of U.S. Department of Agriculture and Pete Finkelstein of the EPA have been studying various plant species at the GSMNP’s Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob since 1999. Neufeld said that more than 100 species of plants in the park show damage from ozone. Neufeld’s group is currently focusing on green-headed coneflower, Rudbeckia lacinata. The coneflower was chosen because it is a common species at Purchase Knob and because some plants exhibit severe foliar injury, even at ambient levels of ozone, while others nearby show no effects. Researchers are using DNA testing to obtain “genetic fingerprints” to try and determine why some individuals might be more susceptible to ozone damage. “One of our main concerns is to try and determine if ozone is detrimental to growth and reproduction,” Neufeld said. “If that is the case, we could see certain genotypes disappear, resulting in the loss of genetic biodiversity within species.” Davison, who has studied the impact of ozone on plants in Great Britain, will be presenting data from the group’s research at a UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) conference in November. Davison said recent studies in Europe have documented as much as a 10 percent crop loss in winter wheat due to ozone. He said that he hopes the data can help lead to the adoption of air quality standards in Europe. The research at the Purchase is detailed and painstaking because of all the variables involved. When one coneflower is showing damage but the one next to it is not, researchers must try and determine if it is genetic or environmental; how much ozone is each plant exposed to; and how much each plant is actually absorbing. “We hope to keep coming up here, until we find answers to these and other questions,” Neufeld said. Neufeld said he believes the research being done at the Purchase could have an impact on air quality standards and the park’s management plans. But the data must first be “peer-reviewed.” The group has submitted two papers to the journal Environmental Pollution. One is a report on foliar injury and one is a study of how ozone penetrates a stand of coneflower.