GROWTH OF CONTINENTAL-SCALE METRO-AGRO-PLEXES, REGIONAL OZONE POLLUTION, AND WORLD FOOD-PRODUCTION

Three regions of the northern mid-latitudes, the continental-scale met ro-agro-plexes, presently dominate global industrial and agricultural productivity. Although these regions cover only 23 percent of the Eart h's continents, they account for most of the world's commercial energy consumption, fertilizer use, food-crop production, and food exports. They also account for more than half of the world's atmospheric nitrog en oxide (NO(x)) emissions and, as a result, are prone to ground-level ozone (O3) pollution during the summer months. On the basis of a glob al simulation of atmospheric reactive nitrogen compounds, it is estima ted that about 10 to 35 percent of the world's grain production may oc cur in parts of these regions where ozone pollution may reduce crop yi elds. Exposure to yield-reducing ozone pollution may triple by 2025 if rising anthropogenic NO(x) emissions are not abated.