Identifying ozone-sensitive communities of (semi-)natural vegetation suitable for mapping exceedance of critical levels

• Published in: Environmental Pollution
• Main Authors: Mills, G., Hayes, F., Jones, M.L.M., Cinderby, S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2007
• Subjects: Botany; Ecology and Environment; Data and Information; Tundra
• Online Access: http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/806/; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2006.04.005

Using published data on the responses of individual species to ozone, 54 EUNIS (European Nature Information System) level 4 communities with six or more ozone-sensitive species (%OS) and c. 20% or more species tested for ozone sensitivity, were identified as potentially ozone-sensitive. The largest number of these communities (23) was associated with Grasslands, with Heathland, scrub and tundra, and Mires, bogs and fens having the next highest representation at 11 and 8 level 4 communities each respectively. Within the grasslands classification, E4 (Alpine and sub-alpine grasslands), E5 (Woodland fringes and clearings) and E1 (Dry grasslands) were the most sensitive with 68.1, 51.6 and 48.6%OS respectively. It is feasible to map the land-cover for these and other communities at level 2, but it may not be currently possible to map the land-cover for all communities identified to be ozone-sensitive at levels 3 and 4. Grassland communities such as alpine and sub-alpine grasslands have the highest potential sensitivity ozone, based on the responses of their component species.