Ozone Risk Assessment for European Vegetation.

Tropospheric ozone is the most critical air pollutant for plants. In recent years, common research goals have brought together different groups working on plant/ozone interactions, interested in establishing a European network that could efficiently make progress in this important research area. In this context, the international workshop on “Ozone risk assessment for European vegetation” was held on May 10- 11, 2007 in Capri (Naples, Italy). This was one of the activities promoted by the steering group of the Ozone Risk Assessment Network established in Ispra on February 23-24, 2006. During the Capri workshop, different facets of ozone effects on three major types of European vegetation, crops, grasslands (semi-natural vegetation) and forests, were discussed. The conclusions of the three working-groups, who contributed to a discussion focussed on methodological problems and research needs, are briefly summarized in the following sections.We refer to the contributions reported in this special issue of the Italian Journal of Agronomy for a detailed analysis of specific aspects.