Agathokleous Stefanos, Saitanis Costas J, Savvides Chrysanthos, Sicard Pierre, Agathokleous Evgenios, De Marco Alessandra
The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus.
University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Lesvos Greece.
J For Res (Harbin). 2023;34(3):579-594. doi: 10.1007/s11676-022-01520-2. Epub 2022 Aug 20.
Ground-level ozone (O) affects vegetation and threatens environmental health when levels exceed critical values, above which adverse effects are expected. Cyprus is expected to be a hotspot for O concentrations due to its unique position in the eastern Mediterranean, receiving air masses from Europe, African, and Asian continents, and experiencing a warm Mediterranean climate. In Cyprus, the spatiotemporal features of O are poorly understood and the potential risks for forest health have not been explored. We evaluated O and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO) at four regional background stations at different altitudes over 2014-2016. O risks to vegetation and human health were estimated by calculating accumulated O exposure over a threshold of 40 nmol mol (AOT40) and cumulative exposure to mixing ratios above 35 nmol mol (SOMO35) indices. The data reveal that mean O concentrations follow a seasonal pattern, with higher levels in spring (51.8 nmol mol) and summer (53.2 nmol mol) and lower levels in autumn (46.9 nmol mol) and winter (43.3 nmol mol). The highest mean O exposure (59.5 nmol mol) in summer occurred at the high elevation station Mt. Troodos (1819 m a.s.l.). Increasing (decreasing) altitudinal gradients were found for O (NO), driven by summer-winter differences. The diurnal patterns of O showed little variation. Only at the lowest altitude O displayed a typical O diurnal pattern, with hourly differences smaller than 15 nmol mol. Accumulated O exposures at all stations and in all years exceeded the European Union's limits for the protection of vegetation, with average values of 3-month (limit: 3000 nmol mol h) and 6-month (limit: 5000 nmol mol h) AOT40 for crops and forests of 16,564 and 31,836 nmol mol h, respectively. O exposures were considerably high for human health, with an average SOMO35 value of 7270 nmol mol days across stations and years. The results indicate that O is a major environmental and public health issue in Cyprus, and policies must be adopted to mitigate O precursor emissions at local and regional scales.
地面臭氧（O）当浓度超过临界值时会影响植被并威胁环境健康，超过该临界值预计会产生不利影响。由于塞浦路斯在地中海东部的独特位置，接收来自欧洲、非洲和亚洲大陆的气团，并经历温暖的地中海气候，预计它将成为臭氧浓度的热点地区。在塞浦路斯，臭氧的时空特征了解甚少，森林健康的潜在风险也尚未得到探索。我们在2014 - 2016年期间，对四个不同海拔的区域背景站点的臭氧和氮氧化物（NO和NO）进行了评估。通过计算超过40 nmol mol阈值的累积臭氧暴露量（AOT40）以及高于35 nmol mol混合比的累积暴露量（SOMO35）指数，来估计臭氧对植被和人类健康的风险。数据显示，平均臭氧浓度呈现季节性模式，春季（51.8 nmol mol）和夏季（53.2 nmol mol）水平较高，秋季（46.9 nmol mol）和冬季（43.3 nmol mol）水平较低。夏季最高的平均臭氧暴露量（59.5 nmol mol）出现在高海拔的特罗多斯山站（海拔1819米）。由于夏季与冬季的差异，臭氧（氮氧化物）呈现出上升（下降）的海拔梯度。臭氧的日变化模式变化不大。仅在最低海拔处，臭氧呈现出典型的日变化模式，每小时差异小于15 nmol mol。所有站点和所有年份的累积臭氧暴露量均超过了欧盟保护植被的限值，作物和森林的3个月（限值：3000 nmol mol h）和6个月（限值：5000 nmol mol h）AOT40平均值分别为16,564和31,836 nmol mol h。臭氧暴露对人类健康而言相当高，各站点和各年份的平均SOMO35值为7270 nmol mol 天。结果表明，臭氧是塞浦路斯的一个主要环境和公共卫生问题，必须采取政策在地方和区域尺度上减少臭氧前体物的排放。
