Over the past decades, rising levels of ozone pollution have interrupted pollination, affecting both plants and pollinating insects. In a review published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, researchers explain how excess ground-level ozone can damage plant foliage, change flowering patterns and hinder pollinators, reports Phys.org portal.
Ozone is formed in the stratosphere at an altitude of 12 kilometers above sea level, it naturally helps protect the Earth from harmful sun rays. But below this zone, it is a harmful pollutant. gaseous ozone tropospheric level is formed as a result of a photochemical reaction between volatile organic compounds, released by vegetation and commonly found in substances such as paint and aerosols, and nitrogen oxides, which are released when fossil fuels are burned. Tropospheric ozone levels are rising as climate warming creates optimal conditions for its formation.
Ozone pollution can affect the timing and duration of flowering in such a way that its onset occurs asynchronously with the activity of pollinators. It can also change the color of flowers, disrupting visual cues for pollinators. Ozone pollution can also directly react with pollen, reducing its quality, but also indirectly changing the amount of pollen.
It can also damage plant leaves almost instantly, discoloring them. When damaged, leaves find it difficult to carry out photosynthesis, and they hardly provide the plant with the energy necessary for growth. Plants release their own organic volatile compounds, which act as chemical signals that facilitate the transfer of information from one plant to another and alert pollinators to the presence of a flower. Ozone pollution appears to disrupt these chemical characteristics.
В plant tissues ozone pollution can reduce the amount of nutrients, increase the amount of chemicals harmful to insects and degrade their overall quality.