[APWG] Invasive kudzu is major factor in surface ozone pollution, study shows

[scott_davis at blm.gov]

Invasive kudzu is major factor in surface ozone pollution, study shows
May 17, 2010

Kudzu, an invasive vine that is spreading across the southeastern United
States and northward, is a major contributor to large-scale increases of
the pollutant surface ozone, according to a study published the week of May
17 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


Kudzu, a leafy vine native to Japan and southeastern China, produces the
chemicals isoprene and nitric oxide, which, when combined with nitrogen in
the air, form ozone, an air pollutant that causes significant health
problems for humans. Ozone also hinders the growth of many kinds of plants,
including crop vegetation.
"We found that this chemical reaction caused by kudzu leads to about a 50
percent increase in the number of days each year in which ozone levels
exceed what the Environmental Protection Agency deems as unhealthy," said
study co-author Manuel Lerdau, a University of Virginia professor of
environmental sciences and biology. "This increase in ozone completely
overcomes the reductions in ozone realized from automobile pollution
control legislation."

full article:

http://www.physorg.com/news193336899.html




Scott Davis,  Science Coordinator
Bureau of Land Management
P. O. Box 25047
Building Fifty
Lakewood, Colorado  80225-0047

scott_davis at blm.gov
303-236-6646