Estimating Costs of Air Pollution Resistance

Abstract

When plants are exposed to an environmental stress such as limited soil water, enhanced ultraviolet radiation from the sun, or high metal concentrations in the soil, there are two possible responses: some plants will persist, while others cannot. Depending on the severity and duration of stress, fewer or more plants will fall into one category versus the other. Differences in responses to stress should be expected at the intra- and interspecific levels, and both have been described for plants exposed to atmospheric pollutants. Although several of the previous contributions in this book have focused on the ability of plants to resist air pollution stress, this commentary focuses instead on the concepts of costs associated with air pollution resistance and stems from the chapter by Winner et al. (Chapter 7, this volume).