While natural sources such as smoke from lightening- caused fires may be responsible for some of the deterioration, most of the air pollution at Craters of the Moon stems from people. Biomonitoring Biomonitoring measures the biological effects of air pollution on plants and animals. Research on several species has occurred at Craters of the Moon. In 1988, a botanist conducted a study of the lichens in the monument. He found slight indications of pollution damage in the campground area and along the state highway.
Ozone is a form of oxygen and is the principal component of modern smog.
Ozone, formed from emissions from forests fires and from lightning, occurs naturally in very small amounts in the air we breathe. At this level, ozone is not harmful to life. However, ozone can form in other ways and in dangerous amounts. These compounds rise into the lower atmospheric layer, or troposphere , where sunlight transforms them into ozone. In populated areas, ozone levels can rise to over ten times normal background levels.