Boreaalisen mäntymetsän haihtuvien hiilivetyjen emissioiden ajallinen ja paikallinen vaihtelu

Boreal forests are the most significant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Northern Europe, emissions originating both from trees and forest floor. The VOCs are reactive trace gases that participate in chemical reactions in the atmosphere, thus affecting aerosol formation and climate. The overall aim was to characterize the temporal and spatial variability of VOC emissions and explain the processes and phenomena affecting those. Extensive field measurements were used, including both gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer as VOC analyzers. A dynamic enclosure method was utilized in measuring VOC fluxes from the forest floor and emissions from Scots pine shoots. The genetic background determines the blend of terpenoids emitted by Scots pine, thus having effect on the atmospheric composition. Forest floor and soil also has substantial effect on VOC fluxes on the ecosystem scale. In addition to the considerable spatial variation in VOC fluxes from the forest floor, there is variation of VOC emissions from Scots pine shoots; differences were associated with needle age, seasonality and growth processes. New foliage dominates the VOC emissions from Scots pine foliage during spring and early summer, when growth processes release significant amounts of VOCs, especially monoterpenes. Scots pine shoots are a strong source of monoterpenes during the early stages of photosynthetic recovery; these periods last from a couple of days to about one week and are likely related to the protection of evergreen foliage against photo-oxidative stress. The studies challenge the presumption of constant emission capacities, which is currently a common presumption in VOC emission inventories. Atmospheric concentrations of VOCs result from an output of the existing sources and their seasonal and spatial variation; this underlines the relevance and importance of details on large a scale. The findings provide new opportunities for developing VOC emissions models based on underlying physico-chemical processes.Boreaaliset metsät ovat Pohjois-Euroopan merkittävin haihtuvien hiilivetyjen (VOC) lähde. Haihtuvat hiilivedyt ovat reaktiivisia kaasuja, jotka ottavat osaa kemiallisiin reaktioihin ilmakehässä ja vaikuttavat siten mm. hiukkasmuodostukseen ja ilmastoon. Työn tavoitteena oli kuvata haihtuvien hiilivetyjen emissioiden ajallista ja paikallista vaihtelua sekä selittää emissioita ajavia ilmiöitä ja niihin vaikuttavia prosesseja. Työtä varten suoritettiin laajoja kenttämittauksia jotka sisälsivät sekä kaasukromatografiaa että massaspektrometriaa. Dynaamista kammiomenetelmää sovellettiin sekä metsänpohjan että metsämännyn versojen hiilivetyemissioiden tutkimiseen. Tutkimuksissa havaittiin, että metsämännyllä on yksilöllistä vaihtelua emittoidussa terpenoidiseoksessa, millä on vaikutusta ilmakehän koostumukseen. Metsänpohjasta haihtuvilla hiilivedyillä on selvä vaikutus ekosysteemitason voihin. Metsämaassa havaitun suuren paikallisen vaihtelun lisäksi myös männyn hiilivetyemissioilla on suurta vaihtelua mm. suhteessa neulasten ikään, vuodenaikaan sekä kasvuprosesseihin. Uudet neulaset ovat hallitseva hiilivetylähde männyn latvustossa keväällä ja alkukesästä, jolloin kasvuprosessit vapauttavat suuria määriä hiilivetyjä. Keväisen fotosynteesin toipumisen aikaan männynversot ovat voimakas monoterpeenilähde; tämä jakso kestää vain joitain päiviä tai viikon ja on nähtävästi suojaamassa valostressiä vastaan toipumisen kriittisinä hetkinä. Tutkimus haastaa perinteisen näkemyksen vakioisista emissiopotentiaaleista, joka on nykyisten emissiomallien keskeinen oletus. Ilmakehän hiilivetykoostumus on tulosta lähteiden emissioista ja niiden vaihtelusta; siksi yksityiskohdat ovat merkittäviä kokonaisuuden kannalta. Löydöksen avaavat mahdollisuuksia kehittää hiilivetyemissiomalleja, jotka perustuvat fysiologisiin ja kemiallisiin prosesseihin

Interannual and Seasonal Dynamics of Volatile Organic Compound Fluxes From the Boreal Forest Floor

In the northern hemisphere, boreal forests are a major source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which drive atmospheric processes and lead to cloud formation and changes in the Earth's radiation budget. Although forest vegetation is known to be a significant source of BVOCs, the role of soil and the forest floor, and especially interannual variations in fluxes, remains largely unknown due to a lack of long-term measurements. Our aim was to determine the interannual, seasonal and diurnal dynamics of boreal forest floor volatile organic compound (VOC) fluxes and to estimate how much they contribute to ecosystem VOC fluxes. We present here an 8-year data set of forest floor VOC fluxes, measured with three automated chambers connected to the quadrupole proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (quadrupole PTR-MS). The exceptionally long data set shows that forest floor fluxes were dominated by monoterpenes and methanol, with relatively comparable emission rates between the years. Weekly mean monoterpene fluxes from the forest floor were highest in spring and in autumn (maximum 59 and 86 mu g m(-2) h(-1), respectively), whereas the oxygenated VOC fluxes such as methanol had highest weekly mean fluxes in spring and summer (maximum 24 and 79 mu g m(-2) h(-1), respectively). Although the chamber locations differed from each other in emission rates, the inter-annual dynamics were very similar and systematic. Accounting for this chamber location dependent variability, temperature and relative humidity, a mixed effects linear model was able to explain 79-88% of monoterpene, methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde fluxes from the boreal forest floor. The boreal forest floor was a significant contributor in the forest stand fluxes, but its importance varies between seasons, being most important in autumn. The forest floor emitted 2-93% of monoterpene fluxes in spring and autumn and 1-72% of methanol fluxes in spring and early summer. The forest floor covered only a few percent of the forest stand fluxes in summer.Peer reviewe

Propagating ice front induces gas bursts and ultrasonic acoustic emissions from freezing xylem

Ice formation and propagation in the xylem of plants is a complex process. During freezing of xylem sap, gases dissolved in liquid sap are forced out of the ice lattice due to their low solubility in ice, and supersaturation of xylem sap as well as low water potential (Psi) are induced at the ice-liquid interface. Supersaturation of gases near the ice front may lead to bubble formation and potentially to cavitation and/or to burst of gases driven out from the branch. In this study, we investigated the origin and dynamics of freezing-related gas bursts and ultrasonic acoustic emissions (AEs), which are suggested to indicate cavitation. Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Salix caprea L. branch segments were exposed to frost cycles in a temperature test chamber, and CO2 efflux (indicating gas bursts) and AEs were recorded. On freezing, two-thirds of the observed gas bursts originated from the xylem and only one-third from the bark. Simultaneously with gas bursts, AEs were detected. Branch Psi affected both gas bursts and AEs, with high gas burst in saturated and dry samples but relevant AEs only in the latter. Repeated frost cycles led to decreasing gas burst volumes and AE activity. Experiments revealed that the expanding ice front in freezing xylem was responsible for observed gas bursts and AEs, and that branch Psi influenced both processes. Results also indicated that gas bursts and cavitation are independently induced by ice formation, though both may be relevant for bubble dynamics during freezing.Peer reviewe

Drought effects on volatile organic compound emissions from Scots pine stems

Tree stems have been identified as sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that play important roles in tree defence and atmospheric chemistry. Yet, we lack understanding on the magnitude and environmental drivers of stem VOC emissions in various forest ecosystems. Due to the increasing importance of extreme drought, we studied drought effects on the VOC emissions from mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stems. We measured monoterpenes, acetone, acetaldehyde and methanol emissions with custom-made stem chambers, online PTR-MS and adsorbent sampling in a drought-prone forest over the hot-dry summer of 2018 and compared the emission rates and dynamics between trees in naturally dry conditions and under long-term irrigation (drought release). The pine stems were significant monoterpene sources. The stem monoterpene emissions potentially originated from resin, based on their similar monoterpene spectra. The emission dynamics of all VOCs followed temperature at a daily scale, but monoterpene and acetaldehyde emission rates decreased nonlinearly with drought over the summer. Despite the dry conditions, large peaks of monoterpene, acetaldehyde and acetone emissions occurred in late summer potentially due to abiotic or biotic stressors. Our results highlight the potential importance of stem emissions in the ecosystem VOC budget, encouraging further studies in diverse environments.Peer reviewe

Interannual and Seasonal Dynamics of Volatile Organic Compound Fluxes From the Boreal Forest Floor

In the northern hemisphere, boreal forests are a major source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which drive atmospheric processes and lead to cloud formation and changes in the Earth’s radiation budget. Although forest vegetation is known to be a significant source of BVOCs, the role of soil and the forest floor, and especially interannual variations in fluxes, remains largely unknown due to a lack of long-term measurements. Our aim was to determine the interannual, seasonal and diurnal dynamics of boreal forest floor volatile organic compound (VOC) fluxes and to estimate how much they contribute to ecosystem VOC fluxes. We present here an 8-year data set of forest floor VOC fluxes, measured with three automated chambers connected to the quadrupole proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (quadrupole PTR-MS). The exceptionally long data set shows that forest floor fluxes were dominated by monoterpenes and methanol, with relatively comparable emission rates between the years. Weekly mean monoterpene fluxes from the forest floor were highest in spring and in autumn (maximum 59 and 86 μg m-2 h-1, respectively), whereas the oxygenated VOC fluxes such as methanol had highest weekly mean fluxes in spring and summer (maximum 24 and 79 μg m-2 h-1, respectively). Although the chamber locations differed from each other in emission rates, the inter-annual dynamics were very similar and systematic. Accounting for this chamber location dependent variability, temperature and relative humidity, a mixed effects linear model was able to explain 79–88% of monoterpene, methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde fluxes from the boreal forest floor. The boreal forest floor was a significant contributor in the forest stand fluxes, but its importance varies between seasons, being most important in autumn. The forest floor emitted 2–93% of monoterpene fluxes in spring and autumn and 1–72% of methanol fluxes in spring and early summer. The forest floor covered only a few percent of the forest stand fluxes in summer

Measurement of Diurnal Variation in Needle PRI and Shoot Photosynthesis in a Boreal Forest

This article has an erratum: Remote Sens. 2018. 10, 2030. DOI 10.3390/rs10122030. WOS: 000455637600172Peer reviewe

Continuous flux measurements of VOCs using PTR-MS — reliability and feasibility of disjunct-eddy-covariance, surface-layer-gradient, and surface-layer-profile methods

Peer reviewe