IUFRO RG 8.04.00

The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists.

There is an increasing awareness in both the science and policy communities of the importance of addressing the linkages between the traditional air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Many air pollutants and greenhouse gases have not only common sources, but also their emissions interact in the atmosphere, and may join to cause a variety of environmental impacts on the local, regional and global scales. Many air pollutants contribute to the Earth’s radiative forcing, e.g. nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds which are precursors to tropospheric ozone. Tropospheric ozone (O3) is particularly relevant for the linkages between climate change and air pollution. Climate change, on the one hand, influences ozone concentrations through dynamical and chemical changes in the atmosphere. On the other hand, increasing background ozone concentrations affect climate change because ozone is a potent greenhouse gas itself and indirectly influences the lifetime of other greenhouse gases such as methane.

The Research Group 8.04.00 on "Air pollution and climate change" promotes international cooperation, for more than 30 years, encouraging an interactive process between scientists, policy makers and representatives of local to regional governments and institutions, in order to share scientific knowledge and harmonize effective strategies aimed to reduce the risk for forests related to air pollution and climate change.

To address complex effects of air pollution and climate change on forest ecosystems, the RG 8.04.00 is organized in 8 Working Parties in several areas of forest sciences:

  • 8.04.01 - Detection and monitoring
  • 8.04.02 - Genetic, biochemical and physiological processes
  • 8.04.03 - Atmospheric deposition, soils and nutrient cycles
  • 8.04.04 - Modelling and risk assessment
  • 8.04.05 - Ground-level ozone
  • 8.04.06 - Nitrogen and sulfur deposition
  • 8.04.07 - Radioactive contamination of forest ecosystems
  • 8.04.08 - Multiple stressors on ecosystems

IUFRO RG 8.04.00

IUFRO RG 8.04.00