Modelled annual average production loss due to ozone damage for four global staple crops 2010-2012

Modelled annual average production loss (thousand tonnes per 1 degree by 1 degree grid cell) due to ground-level ozone pollution is presented for the crops maize (Zea mays), rice (Oryza sativa), soybean (Glycine max) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), for the period 2010-2012. Data are on a global scale, based on the distribution of production for each crop, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) crop production data for the year 2000. Modelled ozone data (2010-2012) needed for production loss calculations were derived from the EMEP MSC-W (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme, Meteorological Synthesising Centre-West) chemical transport model (version 4.16). Mapping the global crop production losses due to ozone highlights the impact of ozone on crops and allows areas at high risk of ozone damage to be identified, which is a step towards mitigation of the problem.

The production loss calculations were done as part of the NERC funded SUNRISE project (NEC06476) and National Capability Project NC-Air quality impacts on food security, ecosystems and health (NEC05574).