Radial growth reductions of Pinusstrobus L. correlated with foliar ozone sensitivity as an indicator of ozone-induced losses in eastern forests

Abstract

A study of the radial increment growth of native eastern white pine (Pinusstrobus L.) evaluated the possible effects of oxidant air pollution (primarily ozone) in long-term growth of forest species in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Ten plots of three white pines of reproducing age (one each classified as tolerant, intermediate, and sensitive to ozone on a foliar basis) were sampled. Plots were dispersed over 446 km from the northern end of the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park to the southern most part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Mean annual radial increment growth of the ozone sensitive trees was significantly smaller (P = 0.01) than that of tolerant trees for the period 1955–1978. Mean increment growth of all trees, regardless of their sensitivity to ozone, decreased during the period. Precipitation was positively correlated with radial growth in all sensitivity classes prior to 1964, but negatively correlated after 1964.