Transcript Ozone Effects to Plants ROMO

Air Resources in Western National Parks
Chris Shaver
Air Resources Division
National Park Service
WRAP Meeting
Sept 13, 2006
Our Lands, Our Legacy
The public values:
• A natural environment,
including clean, clear air
• Knowing that special areas
have been set aside and that
they’re being protected for
future generations
by network for 2005
CUPN
CUPN
Padre Is.
Visibility: On a Path Toward
Clearer Skies
Air Quality Trends in National Parks, 1995-2004
FY2005 Annual Performance Report For NPS Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Air Quality Goal Ia3
OLYMPIC
N. CASCADES
GLACIER
MT RAINIER
VOYAGEURS
ISLE ROYALE
ACADIA
T. ROOSEVELT
LITTLE BIGHORN
CRATER LAKE
YELLOWSTONE
CRATERS OF THE MOON
CAPE COD
BADLANDS
REDWOOD
LASSEN VOLCANIC
INDIANA
DUNES
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
POINT
REYES
GREAT
BASIN
YOSEMITE
CANYONLANDS
BRYCE CANYON
WASHINGTON, DC
SHENANDOAH
GREAT SAND DUNES
PINNACLES
SEQUOIA
CHANNEL
ISLANDS
DEATH
VALLEY
Improving (p<=0.05)
MESA VERDE
GRAND
CANYON
CAPULIN VOLCANO
PETRIFIED
FOREST
JOSHUA
TREE
MAMMOTH CAVE
TONTO
BANDELIER
BUFFALO
GREAT SMOKY
MTS
COWPENS
Degrading (p<=0.05)
No Trend / Stable
GILA CLIFF
ORGAN
PIPE
SAGUARO
CHIRICAHUA
CONGAREE
GUADALUPE MTS
Ozone
CHAMIZAL
DENALI
No Data /
Insufficient Data
Visibility-Clear Days
BIG BEND
Visibility-Hazy Days
Sulfate in Precipitation
EVERGLADES
Nitrate in Precipitation
VIRGIN ISLANDS
Ammonium in
Precipitation
12/02/2005
Annual 4th Highest daily maximum 8-hour
average 0zone (ppb)
2005
Trends in 3-Year Average 4th Highest 8-Hour Ozone Concentrations, 1995-2004
FY2005 Annual Performance Report for NPS Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
Air Quality Goal Ia3
North Cascades
Olympic
Glacier
Mount Rainier
Voyageurs
Acadia
Craters of the Moon
Yellowstone
Lassen Volcanic
Cape Cod
Great Basin
Rocky Mountain
Yosemite
Pinnacles
Sequoia
Canyonlands
Shenandoah
Death Valley
Mesa Verde
Mammoth Cave
Grand Canyon
Channel Islands
Cowpens
Great Smoky Mtns
Joshua Tree
Congaree Swamp
Saguaro
Chiricahua
Chamizal
Big Bend
Denali
Everglades
Improving Trend, p<=0.05
Improving Trend, 0.05<p<=0.15
Degrading Trend, 0.05<p<=0.15
Degrading Trend, p<=0.05
No Trend
11/29/2005
Downward pointing arrows denote trends toward decreasing ozone concentrations and improving air quality. Similarly, the up
arrows correspond to trends toward higher ozone concentrations and hence worsening air quality. Park names underlined in red
denote parks where monitored ozone levels exceed the level of the NAAQS or are part of an ozone non-attainment area.
3-Year Average 4th Highest 8-Hour Ozone Averages
Western Parks
3-yr Avg 4th Highest 8-Hour O3 (ppb)
90
80
70
60
50
40
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
BIBE
GRCA
CANY
MEVE
CRMO
NOCA
1998
DENA
ROMO
2000
GRBA
YELL
2002
2004
Ozone Effects to Vegetation
Normal leaf
How does ozone affect
sensitive species?
Ozone-injured leaf
Aspen
- Visible symptoms
- Physiological symptoms
•Reduced photosynthesis
•Reduced growth
- Acute vs. chronic injury
Ponderosa
pine
Threshold for ozone Injury exceeded
in most parks
NITROGEN: Too Much of a Good
Thing
Wet Nitrate Deposition and Trends
2-3 KG/HA (NO3)
(0.4-0.6 OF N)
Wet Ammonium Deposition and Trends
1 kg/ha (NH4)
(0.8 N)
Christopher M.B. Lehmanna, Van C. Bowersoxa,
Susan M. Larsonb
Rocky Mountain National Park: Nitrogen
Deposition Effects on Park Ecosystems
•
•
•
•
20+ yr research; 80+ published studies on nitrogen deposition and impacts
at ROMO (by USGS researchers Baron, Campbell and others)
Nitrogen contributes to ozone, visibility impairment, and deposition that are
altering the natural ecosystems and enjoyment of the park
Nitrogen is increasing and impacts are increasing
Nitrogen impacts have been documented to soils, waters, vegetation in high
elevation areas on the east side of the park.
Ecosystem Thresholds and Critical Loads
“Critical Loads” is a term
used to describe:
• Has air pollution reached a
tipping point (threshold) for
effects on plants, animals,
soils, or water?
• What amount of N or S
deposition causes that tipping
point?
Current N
deposition in
Rocky
Mountain NP
Natural
background
N deposition
N Load (kg/ ha /yr)- wet
Rocky Mountain National Park: Continuum of Impacts to Ecological Health
3.1
kg/ha/
yr
1.5
kg/ha/
yr
“weight of evidence” of
ecosystem health decline on east
side of park
0.5
kg/ha/
yr
Changes in soil &
water chemistry
Surface water N
saturation
Change in aquatic plant
species composition
Changes in
tree chemistry
Effects on aquatic
animals (episodic
acidification)
Change in alpine
plant species
Forest decline
(acidification
effects on trees)
Lethal effects on fish, other
aquatic animals (chronic
acidification)
Elevated N in spruce tree needles:
Reverse
the Trend
Future Consequences?: If nitrogen continues to
accumulate in high elevation soils at current rates,
acidification could occur within decades
Actions:
NPS is currently working
with EPA and the State
of Colorado to develop a
plan to reduce nitrogen
deposition to the park to
levels protective of
sensitive aquatic and
terrestrial plants, soils,
waters
Scientific Approaches to Develop
Critical Loads
• NPS research on sensitive receptors and
endpoints ongoing at:
– Rocky Mountain NP, Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP,
Grand Teton NP, Great Sand Dunes NP
– Shenandoah NP, Great Smoky Mountains NP
– Mount Rainier NP, North Cascades
– Big Bend NP, Joshua Tree NP
• Modeling being tested at:
– Rocky Mountain, Great Smoky, Mt Rainier,
Acadia and Joshua Tree
• Other FLMs also conducting empirical
studies and modeling to establish critical
loads
Climate Change: Resources at Risk
•
Physical Effects:
– Alteration of climate patterns
– Precip pattern change
– Snowpack decline
– Glaciers melt
– Oceans warm
– Air pollution increase
•
Ecological Effects:
– Plants flower sooner
– Birds nest earlier
– Migration patterns change
– Loss of synchrony between predator
& prey
– Pests survive at higher elevations
– Pathogens spread
– Altered aquatic and terrestrial
communities
Climate Friendly Park Emission
Inventories
Gross GHG Emissions (MTCE)
25,000
21,291
20,000
13,754
15,000
10,000
7,299
6,160
8,230
5,185
2,839
5,000
0
Yosemite
CO2
DWG
Glacier Everglades
Bay
CH4
Zion
N2O
Glacier Gateway
HFC
Burial Lake, NOATAK National Preserve
Western Airborne Contaminants
Assessment Project
WACAP GOAL:
TO ASSESS THE DEPOSITION OF AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS IN
WESTERN NATIONAL PARKS, PROVIDING REGIONAL AND LOCAL
INFORMATION ON EXPOSURE, ACCUMULATION, IMPACTS AND
PROBABLE SOURCES
Key Scientific/Ecological Questions
1.) Are contaminants present in western National Parks?
2.) Where do contaminants accumulate (ecologically and
geographically)?
3.) Which contaminants pose the greatest ecological threat?
4.) Which indicators are the most useful in interpreting
contamination?
5.) What are the probable sources of the air masses most likely
to have transported contaminants to the National Park sites?
National Parks Selected for Inclusion in the WACAP
Catchment
Snow
Annual flux
Eurasia
North
America
Lake
Sediments
Chronology
Lake Water
Fish
Lichen
Dissolved and Particulate
Summer
Contaminants vs. age,
Condition Factors,
Response Factors
N, S, HM
“Vegetation”
Intensify spatial
coverage – more
National Parks
Subsistence Link
(moose)
WACAP Indicators and Conceptual Diagram
Dark Night Skies: A Diminishing
Resource
Quantitative Measurement
with a Camera
A billboard, seen from the side.
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