International Conference on Ozone and Plant Ecosystems

21-25 May, 2018, Florence, Italy

Dear Ozone & Plants experts,

Ozone pollution continues to be a serious issue for terrestrial ecosystems and plant health. Progress has been achieved by controlling the emission of precursors in some areas of the world, but much remains to be done. This conference will allow all experts in the interactions between ozone and plant ecosystems to meet and discuss the state of the art and the strategies for continuous improvements.

The main subjects of the conference are:

1.      Monitoring, modelling and assessing the risk of ozone damage to plant ecosystems

Proofs of the impacts of ambient ozone on plant ecosystems are still elusive. New monitoring approaches and epidemiological studies are developing. Modelling of ozone is becoming more and more sophisticated and high resolution. Risk assessment is evaluating many different metrics for plant protection, with a focus on stomatal ozone flux. All these developments, with focus on the most modern techniques, will be discussed in this session.

2.      How plant ecosystems affect ozone concentration in the atmosphere

Ozone deposition is strongly affected by the type of vegetation. Exchanges of biogenic volatile organic compounds is known to contribute to ozone chemistry in the atmosphere. This session addresses mechanisms, seasonality, responses to ozone singly and in combination with other environmental factors, as well as selection of appropriate green infrastructure for urban greening.

3.      How plant ecosystems respond to ozone exposure

This session will include food security and effects on forests and grasslands. A main aim is to evaluate strategies for maximizing yield, productivity and other environmental services of plant ecosystems under ozone stress.

Following the success of the conference Ozone and Plants held in Beijing in May 2014, we are pleased to announce this follow-up conference.

For more details, please check the website https://conference2018.wixsite.com/ozoneandplants

We look forward to meeting you in Florence!

With our best regards

The Organizers

IUFRO RG7.01.00 Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Change on Forest Ecosystems

IUFRO WP7.01.02 Genetic, biochemical and physiological processes

WP7.01.05 Modelling and risk assessment

WP7.01.09  Ground-level ozone

ICP Vegetation

The Scientific Committee

Elena Paoletti, CNR Italy (Program Chair)

Zhaozhong Feng, CAS China (Program Chair)

Alessandra De Marco, ENEA Italy

Pierre Sicard, ACRI France

Marisa Domingos, San Paulo University Brazil

Evgenios Agathokleous, FPRI Japan

Yasutomo Hoshika, CNR Italy

Harry Harmens, CEH UK

Gina Mills, CEH UK

Lu Zhang, Northeast Agricultural University Harbin, China

The Organizing Committee

Elisa Carrari, CNR Italy

Alessio Giovannelli, CNR Italy

Enrico Marchi, University of Florence, Italy

Invited speakers

Hakan Pleijel, University of Gothenburg, Sweden: Ozone impacts on crop yield and food security (confirmed)

Silvano Fares, CREA-SEL Arezzo, Italy: Ozone and BVOC exchanges between biosphere and atmosphere (confirmed)

Youzhi Feng, CAS Beijing, China : Elevated ground-level ozone modifies the microbiome (confirmed)