Ozone disrupts the communication between plants and insects in urban and suburban areas: an updated insight on plant volatiles.

ABSTRACT: Plant-insect interactions are basic components of biodiversity conservation. To attain the international Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the interactions in urban and in suburban systems should be better understood to maintain the health of green infrastructure. The role of ground-level ozone (O₃) as an environmental stress disrupting interaction webs is presented. Ozone mixing ratios in suburbs are usually higher than in the center of cities and may reduce photosynthetic productivity at a relatively higher degree. Consequently, carbon-based defense capacities of plants may be suppressed by elevated O₃ more in the suburbs. However, contrary to this expectation, grazing damages by leaf beetles have been severe in some urban centers in comparison with the suburbs.

SUBMITTER: Masui N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7797194 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature