Nocturnal stomatal conductance and ambient air quality standards for ozone

Vegetation response to ozone depends on ozone conductance into leaves and the defensive action inside the leaf. Ozone parameters currently used for air quality standards do not incorporate conductance or defensive components. Nighttime flux has often been ignored in ozone metrics relating to plant response, since ozone concentration and conductance are considered to be minimal at night. However, ozone concentration can remain relatively high at night, particularly in mountainous areas. Although conductance is lower at night than during the day for most plants, nocturnal conductance can result in considerable ozone flux into plants. Further, plants can be more susceptible to ozone exposure at night than during the daytime, a result of lower plant defenses at night. Any ozone metric used to relate air quality to plant response should use a 24 h ozone exposure period to include the nighttime exposures. It should also incorporate plant defensive mechanisms or their surrogate.