Stunting Growth: Ozone will trim plants’ carbon-storing power

Increases in low-altitude ozone predicted for the upcoming century will stifle the growth of vegetation in many regions, causing planet-warming carbon dioxide to build up in Earth’s atmosphere more quickly than had been expected, a new model suggests.

GROWING PROBLEM. Top map shows average ozone concentrations June through August today; bottom map predicts concentrations in the year 2100.