Impact of Air Pollutants on Southern Pine Forests

The public's attitude toward air pollution in the United States evolved substantially during the 1960s. One of the results of the nation's emerging environmental ethic was the creation of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December of 1970. Prior to this time, research was focused on the impacts of air pollution on human health and welfare and was largely conducted by several federal research agencies, which included the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the U. S. Department of Agricul ture. After the creation of the EPA, much of this work was consolidated in one regulatory agency, which resulted in periodic evaluations of the various effects of atmospheric pollution on human health, materials, agriculture, and forest ecosystems. At the same time that environmental interest was growing in the United States, concern increased in the European scientific community and public over the ecological impacts of acidic deposition. As the magnitude of the damage to European lakes and streams and the widespread decline in Norway spruce and silver fir was reported, concern that similar problems were occurring in the United States increased substantially. This concern was heightened by press reports of high elevation spruce-fir forest declines in the Adirondack and Appalachian Mountains and the decline and death of sugar maples in the northeastern United States and Canada.

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Introduction: The Southern Commercial Forest Research Cooperative.- Section 1. Characterization of the Condition of Southern Commercial Forests.- 1.Southern Pine Forests of North America.- 2.Soils, Geomorphology, and Land Use of the Southeastern United States.- 3.Air Quality and Atmospheric Deposition in Southern U.S. Forests.- Section 2. Abiotic and Biotic Stress Factors on Southern Pine Forests.- 4.Response of Loblolly Pine to Moisture and NutrientStress.- 5. An Overview of Responses of Southern Pines to Airborne Chemical Stresses.- 6.Biotic Agents of Stress in the South.- 7. Interactive Effects of Air Pollutants with Abiotic and Biotic Factors on Southern Pine Forests.- Section 3. Growth and Physiological Effects of Regional Air Pollutants on Southern Pins.- 8. Atmospheric Deposition and Soil Resources of the Southern Pine Forest.- 9. Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition and the Mycorrhizae of Southern Commercial Forest Trees.- 10. Growth Response of Southern Pines to Acidic Precipitation and Ozone.- 11. Physiological and Biochemical Effects of Air Pollutants on Southern Pines.- Section 4. Impacts of Atmospheric Deposition and Ozone on Southern Commercial Pines: A Synthesis of Epidemiological and Mechanistic Studies.- 12. Synthesis and Conclusions from Studies of Southern Commercial Pines.