Approaches to investigate crop responses to ozone pollution: from O3‐FACE to satellite‐enabled modeling

Abstract

Ozone (O₃) is a damaging air pollutant to crops. As one of the most reactive oxidants known, O₃ rapidly forms other reactive oxygen species (ROS) once it enters leaves through stomata. Those ROS in turn can cause oxidative stress, reduced photosynthesis, accelerated senescence and decreased crop yield. To improve and adapt our feed, fuel, and food supply to rising O₃ pollution, a number of Free Air Concentration Enrichment (O₃-FACE) facilities have been developed around the world and have studied key staple crops. In this review, we will provide an overview of the FACE facilities and highlight some of the lessons learned from the last two decades of research. We discuss the differences between C₃ and C₄ crop responses to elevated O₃, the possible trade-off between productivity and protection, genetic variation in O₃ response within and across species, and how we might leverage this observed variation for crop improvement. We also highlight the need to improve understanding of the interaction between rising O₃ pollution and other climate changes, notably drought. Finally, we propose the use of globally modeled O₃ data that is available at increasing spatial and temporal resolutions to expand upon the research conducted at the limited number of global O₃-FACE facilities.