Indirect radiative forcing of climate change through ozone effects on the land-carbon sink

Sitch, S.; Cox, P. M.; Collins, W. J.; Huntingford, C.

doi:10.1038/nature06059

Cited by 1,019Plant responses to elevated CO2Atmospheric chemistry and aerosolsClimate variability and models

Indirect radiative forcing of climate change through ozone effects on the land-carbon sink

Sitch, S., Cox, P. M., Collins, W. J., Huntingford, C.·2007·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature06059

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The evolution of the Earth's climate over the twenty-first century depends on the rate at which anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions are removed from the atmosphere by the ocean and land carbon cycles. Coupled climate-carbon cycle models suggest that global warming will act to limit the land-carbon sink, but these first generation models neglected the impacts of changing atmospheric chemistry. Emissions associated with fossil fuel and biomass burning have acted to approximately double the global mean tropospheric ozone concentration, and further increases are expected over the twenty-first century. Tropospheric ozone is known to damage plants, reducing plant primary productivity and crop yields, yet increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are thought to stimulate plant primary productivity. Increased carbon dioxide and ozone levels can both lead to stomatal closure, which reduces the uptake of either gas, and in turn limits the damaging effect of ozone and the carbon dioxide fertilization of photosynthesis. Here we estimate the impact of projected changes in ozone levels on the land-carbon sink, using a global land carbon cycle model modified to include the effect of ozone deposition on photosynthesis and to account for interactions between ozone and carbon dioxide through stomatal closure. For a range of sensitivity parameters based on manipulative field experiments, we find a significant suppression of the global land-carbon sink as increases in ozone concentrations affect plant productivity. In consequence, more carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere. We suggest that the resulting indirect radiative forcing by ozone effects on plants could contribute more to global warming than the direct radiative forcing due to tropospheric ozone increases.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/nature06059

Cites

29 of 29 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Ozone is harmful to vegetation because it impairs photosynthesis via uptake through plant stomata.
“Ozone is harmful to vegetation because it impairs photosynthesis via uptake through plant stomata (Sitch et al., 2007).”
From Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem (2018) · cites this paper as Sitch et al., 2007

Climate change 2007: the physical science basis
Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M., Marquis, M. C., Averyt, K. B., Tignor, M., Miller, H. L., & Chen, Z. (2007) · Cited by 23,398 · see citing works
Climate change 2001 : the scientific basis
Houghton, J., Ding, Y., Griggs, D., Noguer, M., van der Linden, P. V. D., Dai, X., Maskell, K., & Johnson, C. (2001) · Foreign Affairs · doi:10.2307/20033020 · Cited by 14,162 · see citing works
Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model
Cox, P. M., Betts, R., JONES, C. D., Spall, S. A., & Totterdell, I. J. (2000) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35041539 · Cited by 4,119 · see citing works
Self-citation
The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO <sub>2</sub>
Sabine, C. L., Feely, R. A., Gruber, N., Key, R. M., Lee, K., Bullister, J. L., Wanninkhof, R., Wong, C. S., Wallace, D. W. R., Tilbrook, B., et al. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1097403 · Cited by 4,035 · see citing works
Climate–Carbon Cycle Feedback Analysis: Results from the C4MIP Model Intercomparison
Friedlingstein, P., Cox, P., Betts, R., Bopp, L., von Bloh, W., Brovkin, V., Cadule, P., Doney, S., Eby, M., Fung, I., et al. (2006) · Journal of Climate · doi:10.1175/jcli3800.1 · Cited by 2,902 · see citing works
Self-citation
Ecosystem Service Supply and Vulnerability to Global Change in Europe
Schröter, D., Crämer, W., Leemans, R., Prentice, I. C., Araújo, M. B., Arnell, N. W., Bondeau, A., Bugmann, H. K. M., Carter, T. R., Gracia, C. A., et al. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1115233 · Cited by 1,701 · see citing works
Self-citation
The impact of new land surface physics on the GCM simulation of climate and climate sensitivity
Cox, P. M., Betts, R., Bunton, C. B., Essery, R., Rowntree, P. R., & Smith, J. G. (1999) · Climate Dynamics · doi:10.1007/s003820050276 · Cited by 931 · see citing works
Self-citation
Assessing the future global impacts of ozone on vegetation
ASHMORE, M. R. (2005) · Plant Cell & Environment · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3040.2005.01341.x · Cited by 920 · see citing works
Detection of a direct carbon dioxide effect in continental river runoff records
Gedney, N., Cox, P. M., Betts, R., Boucher, O., Huntingford, C., & Stott, P. A. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04504 · Cited by 843 · see citing works
Self-citation
Stomatal responses to increased CO2: implications from the plant to the global scale
Field, C. B., Jackson, R. B., & Mooney, H. A. (1995) · Plant Cell & Environment · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3040.1995.tb00630.x · Cited by 790 · see citing works
Global patterns in human consumption of net primary production
Imhoff, M. L., Bounoua, L., Ricketts, T. H., Loucks, C., Harriss, R. C., & Lawrence, W. T. (2004) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature02619 · Cited by 721 · see citing works
Radiative forcing in the 21st century due to ozone changes in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere
Gauss, M., Myhre, G., Pitari, G., Prather, M. J., Isaksen, I. S. A., Berntsen, T. K., Brasseur, G. P., Dentener, F. J., Derwent, R. G., Hauglustaine, D. A., et al. (2003) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/2002jd002624 · Cited by 548 · see citing works
Carbon emissions from fires in tropical and subtropical ecosystems
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Collatz, G. J., & Giglio, L. (2003) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00604.x · Cited by 411 · see citing works
The Global Atmospheric Environment for the Next Generation
Dentener, F. J., Stevenson, D. S., Ellingsen, K. E., van Noije, T., Schultz, M. G., Amann, M. C., Atherton, C. S., Bell, N., Bergmann, D., Bey, I., et al. (2006) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es0523845 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
Self-citation
Characterizing distributions of surface ozone and its impact on grain production in China, Japan and South Korea: 1990 and 2020
Wang, X., & Mauzerall, D. L. (2004) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.03.067 · Cited by 331 · see citing works
Tropospheric O3 moderates responses of temperate hardwood forests to elevated CO2: a synthesis of molecular to ecosystem results from the Aspen FACE project
Karnosky, D. F., Zak, D. R., Pregitzer, K. S., Awmack, C. S., Bockheim, J. G., Dickson, R. E., Hendrey, G. R., Host, G. E., King, J. S., Kopper, B. J., et al. (2003) · Functional Ecology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2003.00733.x · Cited by 300 · see citing works
Scaling ozone responses of forest trees to the ecosystem level in a changing climate
Karnosky, D. F., Pregitzer, K. S., Zak, D. R., Kubiske, M. E., Hendrey, G. R., Weinstein, D. A., Nosal, M., & Percy, K. E. (2005) · Plant Cell & Environment · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3040.2005.01362.x · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Effect of Climate Change on Isoprene Emissions and Surface Ozone Levels
Sanderson, M. G., JONES, C. D., Collins, W. J., Johnson, C. E., & Derwent, R. G. (2003) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2003gl017642 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Self-citation
New critical levels for ozone effects on young trees based on AOT40 and simulated cumulative leaf uptake of ozone
Karlsson, P. E., Uddling, J., Braun, S., et al. (2004) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.01.027 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Relationships between ozone exposure and yield loss in European wheat and potato—a comparison of concentration- and flux-based exposure indices
Pleijel, H., Danielsson, H., Ojanperä, K., et al. (2004) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2003.09.076 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Radiative forcing since preindustrial times due to ozone change in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere
Gauss, M., Myhre, G., Isaksen, I. S. A., Grewe, V., Pitari, G., Wild, O., Collins, W. J., Dentener, F. J., Ellingsen, K., Gohar, L., et al. (2006) · Atmospheric chemistry and physics · doi:10.5194/acp-6-575-2006 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Self-citation
Future Effects of Ozone on Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change Policy Using a Global Biogeochemical Model
Felzer, B. S., Reilly, J. M., Melillo, J. M., Kicklighter, D. W., Sarofim, M. C., Wang, C., Prinn, R. G., & Zhuang, Q. (2005) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1007/s10584-005-6776-4 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Verification of National Weather Service Ensemble Streamflow Predictions for Water Supply Forecasting in the Colorado River Basin
Franz, K., Hartmann, H., Sorooshian, S., & Bales, R. (2003) · Journal of Hydrometeorology · doi:10.1175/1525-7541(2003)004 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Grassland yield declined by a quarter in 5 years of free‐air ozone fumigation
Volk, M., Bungener, P., Contat, F., et al. (2005) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.01083.x · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Difference in ozone uptake in grassland species between open-top chambers and ambient air
Nussbaum, S., & Fuhrer, J. (2000) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/s0269-7491(00)00049-x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Impact of H<sub>2</sub>O emissions from cryoplanes and kerosene aircraft on the atmosphere
Gauss, M., Isaksen, I. S. A., Wong, S., & Wang, W. ‐. (2003) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/2002jd002623 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
New exposure-based metric approach for evaluating O3 risk to North American aspen forests
Percy, K. E., Nosal, M., Heilman, W. E., et al. (2006) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2006.10.009 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Time evolution of tropospheric ozone and its radiative forcing
Berntsen, T. K., Myhre, G., Stordal, F., et al. (2000) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/1999jd901139 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Untitled work
Mutai, C. (2000) · doi:10.1175/1520-0442(2000)013

Flagged first, then by citations

Sorted by citations

Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: Report of the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on planetary health
Whitmee, S., Haines, A., Beyrer, C., Boltz, F., Capon, A. G., de Souza Dias, B. F., Ezeh, A., Frumkin, H., Gong, P., Head, P., et al. (2015) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60901-1 · Cited by 2,998 · see citing works
Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change
Díaz, S., Settele, J., Brondízio, E. S., Ngo, H. T., Agard, J., Arneth, A., Balvanera, P., Brauman, K. A., Butchart, S. H. M., Chan, K. M. A., et al. (2019) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aax3100 · Cited by 2,773 · see citing works
Climate, ecosystems, and planetary futures: The challenge to predict life in Earth system models
Bonan, G. B., & Doney, S. C. (2018) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aam8328 · Cited by 698 · see citing works
Tropospheric ozone in CMIP6 simulations
Griffiths, P. T., Murray, L. T., Zeng, G., Shin, Y. M., Abraham, N. L., Archibald, A. T., Deushi, M., Emmons, L. K., Galbally, I. E., Hassler, B., et al. (2021) · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · doi:10.5194/acp-21-4187-2021 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem
Schmale, J., Arnold, S. R., Law, K. S., Thorp, T., Anenberg, S., Simpson, W. R., Mao, J., & Pratt, K. A. (2018) · Earth's Future · doi:10.1029/2018ef000952 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
“Ozone is harmful to vegetation because it impairs photosynthesis via uptake through plant stomata (Sitch et al., 2007).”
Background
Radiative forcing due to changes in ozone and methane caused by the transport sector
Myhre, G., Shine, K. P., Rädel, G., Gauss, M., Isaksen, I. S. A., Tang, Q., Prather, M. J., Williams, J. E., van Velthoven, P., Dessens, O., et al. (2011) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.10.001 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Is an Ozone Sensor in Human Skin
Afaq, F., Zaid, M. A., Pelle, E., Khan, N., Syed, D. N., Matsui, M. S., Maes, D., & Mukhtar, H. (2009) · Journal of Investigative Dermatology · doi:10.1038/jid.2009.85 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Growing season extension affects ozone uptake by European forests
Anav, A., De Marco, A., Friedlingstein, P., Savi, F., Sicard, P., Sitch, S., Vitale, M., & Paoletti, E. (2019) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.020 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citation
Ozone disrupts the communication between plants and insects in urban and suburban areas: an updated insight on plant volatiles
Masui, N., Agathokleous, E., Mochizuki, T., Tani, A., Matsuura, H., & Koike, T. (2021) · Journal of Forestry Research · doi:10.1007/s11676-020-01287-4 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Using an Inverse Model to Reconcile Differences in Simulated and Observed Global Ethane Concentrations and Trends Between 2008 and 2014
Monks, S. A., Wilson, C., Emmons, L. K., Hannigan, J. W., Helmig, D., Blake, N. J., & Blake, D. R. (2018) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/2017jd028112 · Cited by 28 · see citing works

The Carbon Sink Estimation and Carbon Sink Increase Potential of Jiangmen, China
Zhang, Q. J. (2013) · Advanced materials research · doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.712-715.3049
Radiative Forcing by Tropospheric Ozone Changes due to Increased Emissions of CH4, CO and NOx
Hauglustaine, D. A., & Granier, C. (1995) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-79869-6_13 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Tropospheric ozone radiative forcing uncertainty due to pre-industrial fire and biogenic emissionsPreprint
Rowlinson, M., Rap, A., Hamilton, D. S., et al. (2020) · doi:10.5194/acp-2019-1065 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Attribution of historical ozone forcing to anthropogenic emissions
Shindell, D. T., Faluvegi, G., Nazarenko, L., Bowman, K. W., Lamarque, J., Voulgarakis, A., Schmidt, G. A., Pechony, O. B., & Ruedy, R. A. (2013) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate1835 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Tropospheric ozone radiative forcing uncertainty due to pre-industrial fire and biogenic emissions
Rowlinson, M., Rap, A., Hamilton, D. S., Pope, R. J., Hantson, S., Arnold, S. R., Kaplan, J. O., Arneth, A., Chipperfield, M. P., Forster, P. M. D. F., et al. (2020) · Atmospheric chemistry and physics · doi:10.5194/acp-20-10937-2020 · Cited by 34 · see citing works

Authors: Sitch, S., Cox, P. M., Collins, W. J., & Huntingford, C.
Affiliations: Met Office (GB)
University of Exeter (GB)
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB)
Corresponding author: Sitch, S.
ORCID: Sitch, S.
Cox, P. M.
Collins, W. J.
Huntingford, C.
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2007-07-25
Volume: 448
Issue: 7155
Pages: 791-794
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature06059
OpenAlex: W2003052024
Cited by: 1,019
References: 29
Citations by year: 2026: 24 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 69 · 2018: 62 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 49 · 2015: 62 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 71 · 2012: 66
FWCI: 64.40
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
www.springer.com/tdm (vor)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
NERC Open Research Archive (Natural Environment Research Council) (submittedVersion)
Funders: Natural Environment Research Council (CEH010010)
Topics: Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Plant responses to elevated CO2
Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
Keywords: indirect radiative forcing, terrestrial carbon sink, plant productivity, stomatal closure, CO2 fertilization, ozone deposition, photosynthesis, carbon cycle, climate change, carbon dioxide accumulation
MeSH terms: Atmosphere, Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Ozone, Photosynthesis, Plants, Switzerland, Greenhouse Effect, Ecosystem, Plant Epidermis, Plant Development

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Indirect radiative forcing of climate change through ozone effects on the land-carbon sink

Abstract

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks