Metrics of ozone risk assessment for Southern European forests: Canopy moisture content as a potential plant response indicator

Present standards for protecting ecosystems from ozone (O3), such as AOT40, use atmospheric concentrations. A stomatal flux-based approach (Phytotoxic O3 Dose, PODY) has been suggested. We compared the spatial and temporal distribution of AOT40 and PODY – with and without a hourly threshold of uptake (POD1 and POD0) – for Pinus halepensis and Fagus sylvatica in South-eastern France and North-western Italy. Ozone uptake was simulated by including limitation due to soil water content, as this is an important parameter in water-limited environments. Both AOT40 and POD1 exceeded the critical levels suggested for forests. AOT40 suggested a larger O3 risk relative to PODY. No significant spatial and temporal difference occurred between POD1 and POD0. The use of POD0 in the assessment of ambient O3 risk for vegetation is thus recommended, because it is more biologically-meaningful than AOT40 and easier to be calculated than POD1. Canopy Moisture Content (CMC), a proxy of foliar water content, was modelled and tested as a potential plant O3 response indicator. CMC response to O3 was species-specific, and thus cannot be recommended in the epidemiology of O3 injury to forests. [Display omitted] •Stomatal ozone flux (POD) is a better metric than AOT40 for the protection of forests.•We recommend POD0 rather than POD1.•We cannot recommend CMC as a plant-response indicator.