Effects Of Air Pollution And Acid 'Rain On Agriculture: An Annotated Bibliography

Ozone and sulfur dioxide--gaseous air pollutants--can reduce the yields of key agricultural crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat, citrus fruit, cotton, and peanuts by interfering with plant photosynthesis. In general, the greater the pollutant concentration, the greater the yield reduction. Based on this biological evidence, economists are now estimating dollar impacts of ozone pollution on agriculture. By contrast, evidence on the biological impacts of acid rain on crops, soils, and forests is much less clear, often ambiguous. Some acid rain impacts can be favorable, because rainfall acids contain nitrogen and sulfur-- major plant nutrients. On balance, acid rain seems to be far less damaging to agriculture (if damaging at all) than the gaseous pollutants. Nevertheless, gaseous pollutants and acidity in rain both originate to a significant degree from the same or similar sources--man's pollutant emissions to the atmosphere.