Soil Water Availability Modulation Over Estimated Relative Yield Losses in Wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) Due to Ozone Exposure

D De La Torre ,María José Sierra

doi:10.1100/tsw.2007.120

Abstract

The approach developed by Fuhrer in 1995 to estimate wheat yield losses induced by ozone and modulated by the soil water content (SWC) was applied to the data on Catalonian wheat yields. The aim of our work was to apply this approach and adjust it to Mediterranean environmental conditions by means of the necessary corrections. The main objective pursued was to prove the importance of soil water availability in the estimation of relative wheat yield losses as a factor that modifies the effects of tropospheric ozone on wheat, and to develop the algorithms required for the estimation of relative yield losses, adapted to the Mediterranean environmental conditions. The results show that this is an easy way to estimate relative yield losses just using meteorological data, without using ozone fluxes, which are much more difficult to calculate. Soil water availability is very important as a modulating factor of the effects of ozone on wheat; when soil water availability decreases, almost twice the amount of accumulated exposure to ozone is required to induce the same percentage of yield loss as in years when soil water availability is high.

Highlights

Tropospheric ozone has been shown to induce important yield losses in cereal crops[1,2,3]
The results show that the Catalonian agroclimatic regions considered are suitable for the objectives of the study, since a wheat yield gradient was observed as a function of soil water content (SWC)
It would appear that soil water availability in the A–H period is determinant for predicting the relative wheat yield

Summary

Introduction

Tropospheric ozone has been shown to induce important yield losses in cereal crops[1,2,3]. One negative aspect of the exposure of cereal crops to ozone is yield loss In wheat, this can be seen as decreasing spike numbers per surface unit, decreasing grain numbers per spike, and a decrease in grain weight, with the concomitant decrease in spike weight and size[4,5,6,7,8]. In the past few decades, the impact of tropospheric ozone exposure on plants has been one of the most important environmental issues considered by the European cooperation panel on air pollution emissions control[9]. This has led to a request from policymakers to scientists for methods to quantify these effects.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion