Vicent Calatayud

Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo | CEAM · Effects of Air Pollutants

Indoor pollution poses a serious threat to human health. Plants represent a sustainable but underexploited solution to enhance indoor air quality. However, the current selection of plants suitable for indoors fails to consider the physiological processes and mechanisms involved in phytoremediation. Therefore, the capacity of plants to remove indoor...

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%...

Elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations induce adverse effects in plants. We reviewed how ozone affects (i) the composition and diversity of plant communities by affecting key physiological traits; (ii) foliar chemistry and the emission of volatiles, thereby affecting plant-plant competition, plant-insect interactions, and the composition of ins...

Background The paper presents an overview of air quality in the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (previous EU-28), from 2000 to 2017. We reviewed the progress made towards meeting the air quality standards established by the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives (European Council Directive 2008/50/EC) and the World...

Ground-level ozone (O3), fine particles (PM2.5), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are the most harmful urban air pollutants regarding human health effects. Here, we aimed at assessing trends in concurrent exposure of global urban population to O3, PM2.5, and NO2 between 2000 and 2019. PM2.5, NO2, and O3 mean concentrations and summertime mean of the dail...

Air pollution is a prevailing environmental problem in cities worldwide. The future vehicle electrification (VE), which in Europe will be importantly fostered by the ban of thermal engines from 2035, is expected to have an important effect on urban air quality. Machine learning models represent an optimal tool for predicting changes in air pollutan...

In recognition of the rising threats of ground-level ozone (O3) pollution to forests, agricultural crops, and other types of vegetation, accurate and realistic risk assessment is urgently needed. The accumulated O3 exposure over a concentration threshold of 40 nmol mol−1 (AOT40) is the most commonly used metric to investigate O3 exposure and its ef...

East Asia is a hotspot of surface ozone (O3) pollution, which hinders crop growth and reduces yields. Here, we assess the relative yield loss in rice, wheat and maize due to O3 by combining O3 elevation experiments across Asia and air monitoring at about 3,000 locations in China, Japan and Korea. China shows the highest relative yield loss at 33%,...

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundr...

Ozone concentrations near the land surface are rising in Asia while they are declining or stagnating in Europe and North America. Ozone is the most widespread air pollutant negatively affecting vegetation, and its increased concentrations pose a major threat to food quality and production and other ecosystem services in Asia. In this review, we pro...

Criterion 2 considers and quantifies the exposure, risk, and impact on forest health posed by biotic and abiotic stressors. Environmental conditions, such as air and soil quality, influence the health and vitality of forest ecosystem and, subsequently, the provision of forest products and services. Appropriate management practices can improve the c...

Final Report of the Endesa Els-Ports Project from the contract between the Consejería del Medio Ambiente de la Generalitat Valenciana and the Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM). Includes Report from the Congreso de los Diputados regarding said Contract

Background - The paper presents an overview of air quality in the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (previous EU-28), from 2000 to 2017. We reviewed the progress made towards meeting the air quality standards established by the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives (Directive 2008/50/EC) and the World Health Organiza...

Ground-level ozone (O3) is the main phytotoxic air pollutant causing crop yield reduction in China. As the main grain producing area in China, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) is facing serious O3 pollution. This study analyzed the hourly ground-level O3 observation data of 158 stations from 2014 to 2019 in YRD, and grain production data of 193 distri...

Ozone (O3) pollution can induce changes in plant growth and metabolism, and in turn, affects isoprene emission (ISO), but the extent of these effects may be modified by co-occurring soil water and nitrogen (N) availability. To date, however, much less is known about the combined effects of two of these factors on isoprene emission from plants. We i...

Maize is the second most important crop per harvested area in the world. The North China Plain (NCP) is a highly populated and relevant agricultural region in China, experiencing some of the highest ozone (O3) concentrations worldwide. It produces ~24% of the total maize production of China in years 2014–2017. For these years, we used observational...

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a pollutant of widespread concern in the world and especially in China for its negative effects on agricultural crops. For the first time, yield and economic losses of wheat between 2014 and 2017 were estimated for the North China Plain (NCP) using observational hourly O3 data from 312 monitoring stations and exposure-res...

1.Elevated concentrations of ground‐level ozone (O3) and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition occur concurrently. The negative effects of elevated O3 on plants have been widely studied and are well understood nowadays. However, how the effects of elevated O3 on plants may be driven by N deposition remains an unsolved puzzle. 2. We conducted a meta‐...

Since the Industrial Revolution, the global ambient O3 concentration has more than doubled. Negative impact of O3 on some common crops such as wheat and soybeans has been widely recognized, but there is relatively little information about maize, the typical C4 plant and third most important crop worldwide. To partly compensate this knowledge gap, t...

Ground-level ozone (O3) is an important phytotoxic air pollutant in China. In order to compare the sensitivity of common poplar clones to O3 in China and explore the possible mechanism, five poplar clones, clone DQ (Populus cathayana), clone 84 K (P. alba × P. glandulosa), clone WQ156 (P. deltoids × P. cathayana), clone 546 (P. deltoides cv. ‘55/56...

Wheat yield loss due to ambient ozone (O3) and the associated economic losses in China were evaluated for years 2015 and 2016 using for the first time measured O3 concentration ([O3]) and meteorological data as well as phenological observations. Relative yield losses (RYL) were estimated using response functions based on both O3 exposure and flux m...

A stomatal ozone (O3) flux-response relationship for relative yield of maize was established by parameterizing a Jarvis stomatal conductance model. For the function (fVPD) describing the limitation of stomatal conductance by vapor pressure deficit (VPD, kPa), cumulative VPD during daylight hours was superior to hourly VPD. The latter function is pr...

The nature of the dose-response relationship in the low dose zone and how this concept may be used by regulatory agencies for science-based policy guidance and risk assessment practices are addressed here by using the effects of surface ozone (O3) on plants as a key example for dynamic ecosystems sustainability. This paper evaluates the current use...

Key messages: Ozone is a gaseous air pollutant present in remote areas at levels causing visible symptoms in plants. Despite a significant reduction, ozone levels at ICP Forests sites still exceed the threshold value for adverse effects. Ozone-induced foliar symptoms have been observed on woody plant species all across Europe. Further observational...

The effects of current and future elevated O3 concentrations (e[O3]) were investigated by a meta-analysis for poplar, a widely distributed genus in the Northern Hemisphere with global economic importance. Current [O3] has significantly reduced CO2 assimilation rate (Pn) by 33% and total biomass by 4% in comparison with low O3 level (charcoal-filter...

Wheat is a major staple food and its sensitivity to the gas pollutant ozone (O3) depends on the cultivar. However, few chamber-less studies assessed current ambient O3 effects on a large number of wheat cultivars. In this study, we used ethylenediurea (EDU), an O3 protectant whose protection mechanisms are still unclear, to test photosynthetic pigm...

This study presents a reanalysis of ozone (O3) exposure experiments performed on deciduous broadleaf oak species in the Mediterranean region and a proposal of critical levels to improve the O3 risk assessment in this area for these widely distributed forest species. Two experiments performed in Spain and Italy were considered, and the following 3 o...

Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to am...

Poplar clones 546 (P. deltoides cv. ‘55/56’ × P. deltoides cv. ‘Imperial’) and 107 (P. euramericana cv. ‘74/76’) were exposed to five ozone concentrations in 15 open-top chambers (OTCs). Both ozone exposure (AOT40, Accumulation Over a Threshold hourly ozone concentration of 40 ppb) and flux-based (POD7, Phytotoxic Ozone Dose above an hourly flux th...

The effects of elevated ozone on C (carbon), N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) ecological stoichiometry and nutrient resorption in different organs including leaves, stems and roots were investigated in poplar clones 546 (P. deltoides cv. '55/56' × P. deltoides cv. 'Imperial') and 107 (P. euramericana cv. '74/76') with a different sensitivity to ozon...

Tropospheric ozone (O3) pollution frequently overlaps with drought episodes but the combined effects are not yet understood. We investigated the physiological and biomass responses of an O3 sensitive hybrid poplar clone (‘546’) under three O3 levels (charcoal-filtered ambient air, non-filtered ambient air (NF), and NF plus 40 ppb) and two watering...

Five winter wheat cultivars were exposed to ambient (A-O3) and elevated (E-O3, 1.5 ambient) O3 in a fully open-air fumigation system in China. Ozone exposure- and flux based response relationships were established for seven physiological variables related to photosynthesis. The performance of the fitting of the regressions in terms of R(2) increase...

The relationships of CO2 assimilation under saturated-light conditions (Asat) with exposure- (AOTX, Accumulated Ozone exposure over a hourly Threshold of X ppb) and flux-based (PODY, Phytotoxic Ozone Dose over a hourly threshold Y nmol·m(-2)·s(-1)) O3 metrics was studied on three common urban trees, Fraxinus chinensis (FC), Platanus orientalis (PO)...

The carbon-sink strength of temperate and boreal forests at mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere is decreased by ozone pollution, but knowledge on subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests is missing. Taking the dataset from Chinese studies covering temperate and subtropical regions, effects of elevated ozone concentration ([O3]) on growth, bio...

Ground-level ozone (O3) concentrations and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition rates have increased strongly since the 1950s. Rising ground-level O3 concentrations and atmospheric N deposition both affect plant physiology and growth, however, impacts have often been studied in isolation rather than in combination. In addition, studies are often lim...

Anatomical and histological study of endemism flowers of Lamottea diania (Asteraceae) and the effects of tropospheric ozone on their development”. Lilloa 53 (2). Plants of endemism Lamottea diania were exposed in cameras OTC (Open Top Chambers) to filtered ambient air and ambient air unfiltered over 30 ppb ozone to observe the effect of this pollut...

Two open-top chamber experiments were carried out at a continental and a coastal location in Spain to test the ozone sensitivity of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cycla) under Mediterranean conditions. Three cultivars of spinach and two cultivars of Swiss chard currently grown in commercial fields were screene...

The International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops (ICP Vegetation) was established in 1987. It is led by the UK and has its Programme Coordination Centre at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) in Bangor. It is one of seven ICPs and Task Forces that report to the Working Group on Effects (WGE) o...

The combined effects of ozone (O3 ) and drought on isoprene emission were studied for the first time. Young hybrid poplars (clone 546, Populus deltoides cv. 55/56 x P. deltoides cv. Imperial) were exposed to O3 (CF, charcoal-filtered air, and E-O3 , non-filtered air +40 ppb) and soil water stress (WW, well-watered, and MD, mild drought, 1/3 irrigat...

Current ozone (O3) levels are high enough to negatively affect vegetation and may become worse in the future. Ozone risk assessments have recently shifted from exposure-based to flux-based metrics. Modeling stomatal O3 fluxes requires hourly O3 and meteorological data, which are not always available. Large datasets of O3 concentrations measured wit...

Ozone (O3) sensitivity varies greatly among plant species. Leaf traits such as stomatal conductance, antioxidant capacity and leaf morphology and anatomy may play important roles in controlling this variation, but the relative contributions of each trait remain elusive. In this study, we examined the differences in O3 sensitivity among 29 deciduous...

Activity under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) focuses on developing and implementing clean air policies across Europe and North America. There has been great success in reducing sulphur emissions over the past decades, but the concentration of nitrogen (N) compounds in the atmosphere, the level of N deposite...

Four genotypes of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were selected to study the effects of ambient ozone concentration at a cropland area around Beijing by using 450 ppm of ethylenediurea (EDU) as a chemical protectant. During the growing season, the 8h (9:00-17:00) average ozone concentration was very high, approximately 71.3 ppb, and AOT40 was 29....

Potted plants of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (AA), Fraxinus chinensis Roxb. (FC), Platanus orientalis L. (PO), and Robinia pseudoacacia L. (RP) were exposed to enhanced ozone levels (NF+40, averaged O3 concentration of 69 nmol mol−1 from 09:00 to 18:00) in Open Top Chambers. These species are among the most common ornamental plants in stree...

Potted plants of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (AA), Fraxinus chinensis Roxb. (FC), Platanus orientalis L. (PO), and Robinia pseudoacacia L. (RP) were exposed to enhanced ozone levels (NF+40, averaged O3 concentration of 69 nmol mol−1 from 09:00 to 18:00) in Open Top Chambers. These species are among the most common ornamental plants in stree...

Abstract to the presentation held by Marcus Schaub in Nice, at IUFRO Nice 2015 - Global Challenges of Air Pollution and Climate Change to Forests

Abstract to the key not presentation held by Marcus Schaub at the 4th ICP Forests Scientific Conference

Lichens are considered to be among the most sensitive organisms for several types of pollutants. In this work, we analyzed a dataset of 286 epiphytic lichen species observed on 1155 trees at 83 ForestBIOTA plots, which is a subsample of approx. 500 plots of the European ICP Forests Level II network. We aimed at examining the amount of nitrogen depo...

Vegetation-related response variables adopted in the ICP Forests are related to health, growth, phenology, and diversity. Their assessment and measurement is subject to errors, which need to be controlled and documented. To do this, data quality requirements (DQRs) and intercomparison exercises were implemented. During 2009 and 2010, 111–260 field...

Seven experiments carried out in Italy and Spain have been used to parameterising a stomatal conductance model and establishing exposure- and dose-response relationships for yield and quality of tomato with the main goal of setting O3 critical levels (CLe). CLe with confidence intervals, between brackets, were set at an accumulated hourly O3 exposu...

A study on the taxonomy, morphology and anatomy of the lichenicolous species of the genus Cercidospora (Dothideales, incertae sedis) growing on lichens of the genera Lecanora (Lecanoraceae), specifically of the L. polytropa group and the L. saxicola group (i.e. L. muralis sensu auct. group, Protoparmeliopsis spp.), Rhizoplaca (Lecanoraceae) and Squ...

The demand for comparable, long-term, high quality data on forest ecosystems' status and changes is increasing at the international and global level. Yet, sources for such data are limited and in many case it is not possible to compare data from different monitoring initiatives across space and time because of methodological differences. Apart from...

The measurement of air pollutants in forests is important in order to evaluate the risk for vegetation and to document spatial patterns, temporal variability, and trends in areas not covered by air quality monitoring networks. It is also useful to provide a better understanding and quantification of immission processes to European forest ecosystems...