Highly reactive light-dependent monoterpenes in the Amazon

Despite orders of magnitude difference in atmospheric reactivity and great diversity in biological functioning, little is known about monoterpene speciation in tropical forests. Here we report vertically resolved ambient air mixing ratios for 12 monoterpenes in a central Amazon rainforest including observations of the highly reactive cis-β-ocimene (160 ppt), trans-β-ocimene (79 ppt), and terpinolene (32 ppt) which accounted for an estimated 21% of total monoterpene composition yet 55% of the upper canopy monoterpene ozonolysis rate. All 12 monoterpenes showed a mixing ratio peak in the upper canopy, with three demonstrating subcanopy peaks in 7 of 11 profiles. Leaf level emissions of highly reactive monoterpenes accounted for up to 1.9% of photosynthesis confirming light-dependent emissions across several Amazon tree genera. These results suggest that highly reactive monoterpenes play important antioxidant roles during photosynthesis in plants and serve as near-canopy sources of secondary organic aerosol precursors through atmospheric photooxidation via ozonolysis. © 2015. The Authors

The modern pollen-vegetation relationship of a tropical forest-savannah mosaic landscape, Ghana, West Africa

Transitions between forest and savannah vegetation types in fossil pollen records are often poorly understood due to over-production by taxa such as Poaceae and a lack of modern pollen-vegetation studies. Here, modern pollen assemblages from within a forest-savannah transition in West Africa are presented and compared, their characteristic taxa discussed, and implications for the fossil record considered. Fifteen artificial pollen traps were deployed for 1 year, to collect pollen rain from three vegetation plots within the forest-savannah transition in Ghana. High percentages of Poaceae and Melastomataceae/Combretaceae were recorded in all three plots. Erythrophleum suaveolens characterised the forest plot, Manilkara obovata the transition plot and Terminalia the savannah plot. The results indicate that Poaceae pollen influx rates provide the best representation of the forest-savannah gradient, and that a Poaceae abundance of >40% should be considered as indicative of savannah-type vegetation in the fossil record

Green leaf volatile emissions during high temperature and drought stress in a central Amazon rainforest

Prolonged drought stress combined with high leaf temperatures can induce programmed leaf senescence involving lipid peroxidation, and the loss of net carbon assimilation during early stages of tree mortality. Periodic droughts are known to induce widespread tree mortality in the Amazon rainforest, but little is known about the role of lipid peroxidation during drought-induced leaf senescence. In this study, we present observations of green leaf volatile (GLV) emissions during membrane peroxidation processes associated with the combined effects of high leaf temperatures and drought-induced leaf senescence from individual detached leaves and a rainforest ecosystem in the central Amazon. Temperature-dependent leaf emissions of volatile terpenoids were observed during the morning, and together with transpiration and net photosynthesis, showed a post-midday depression. This post-midday depression was associated with a stimulation of C5 and C6 GLV emissions, which continued to increase throughout the late afternoon in a temperature-independent fashion. During the 2010 drought in the Amazon Basin, which resulted in widespread tree mortality, green leaf volatile emissions (C6 GLVs) were observed to build up within the forest canopy atmosphere, likely associated with high leaf temperatures and enhanced drought-induced leaf senescence processes. The results suggest that observations of GLVs in the tropical boundary layer could be used as a chemical sensor of reduced ecosystem productivity associated with drought stress. © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Chronic kidney disease and valvular heart disease: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies conference

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for valvular heart disease (VHD). Mitral annular and aortic valve calcifications are highly prevalent in CKD patients and commonly lead to valvular stenosis and regurgitation, as well as complications including conduction system abnormalities and endocarditis. VHD, especially mitral regurgitation and aortic stenosis, is associated with significantly reduced survival among CKD patients. Knowledge related to VHD in the general population is not always applicable to CKD patients because the pathophysiology may be different, and CKD patients have a high prevalence of comorbid conditions and elevated risk for periprocedural complications and mortality. This Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) review of CKD and VHD seeks to improve understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of VHD in CKD by summarizing knowledge gaps, areas of controversy, and priorities for research

Chronic kidney disease and arrhythmias: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies Conference.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are predisposed to heart rhythm disorders, including atrial fibrillation (AF)/atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardias, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death (SCD). While treatment options, including drug, device, and procedural therapies, are available, their use in the setting of CKD is complex and limited. Patients with CKD and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) have historically been under-represented or excluded from randomized trials of arrhythmia treatment strategies,1 although this situation is changing.2 Cardiovascular society consensus documents have recently identified evidence gaps for treating patients with CKD and heart rhythm disorders [...

Highly reactive light‐dependent monoterpenes in the Amazon

Despite orders of magnitude difference in atmospheric reactivity and great diversity in biological functioning, little is known about monoterpene speciation in tropical forests. Here we report vertically resolved ambient air mixing ratios for 12 monoterpenes in a central Amazon rainforest including observations of the highly reactive cis-β-ocimene (160 ppt), trans-β-ocimene (79 ppt), and terpinolene (32 ppt) which accounted for an estimated 21% of total monoterpene composition yet 55% of the upper canopy monoterpene ozonolysis rate. All 12 monoterpenes showed a mixing ratio peak in the upper canopy, with three demonstrating subcanopy peaks in 7 of 11 profiles. Leaf level emissions of highly reactive monoterpenes accounted for up to 1.9% of photosynthesis confirming light-dependent emissions across several Amazon tree genera. These results suggest that highly reactive monoterpenes play important antioxidant roles during photosynthesis in plants and serve as near-canopy sources of secondary organic aerosol precursors through atmospheric photooxidation via ozonolysis. © 2015. The Authors

Monoterpene 'thermometer' of tropical forest-atmosphere response to climate warming.

Tropical forests absorb large amounts of atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis but elevated temperatures suppress this absorption and promote monoterpene emissions. Using 13 CO2 labeling, here we show that monoterpene emissions from tropical leaves derive from recent photosynthesis and demonstrate distinct temperature optima for five groups (Groups 1-5), potentially corresponding to different enzymatic temperature-dependent reaction mechanisms within β-ocimene synthases. As diurnal and seasonal leaf temperatures increased during the Amazonian 2015 El Niño event, leaf and landscape monoterpene emissions showed strong linear enrichments of β-ocimenes (+4.4% °C-1 ) at the expense of other monoterpene isomers. The observed inverse temperature response of α-pinene (-0.8% °C-1 ), typically assumed to be the dominant monoterpene with moderate reactivity, was not accurately simulated by current global emission models. Given that β-ocimenes are highly reactive with respect to both atmospheric and biological oxidants, the results suggest that highly reactive β-ocimenes may play important roles in the thermotolerance of photosynthesis by functioning as effective antioxidants within plants and as efficient atmospheric precursors of secondary organic aerosols. Thus, monoterpene composition may represent a new sensitive 'thermometer' of leaf oxidative stress and atmospheric reactivity, and therefore a new tool in future studies of warming impacts on tropical biosphere-atmosphere carbon-cycle feedbacks

Within-canopy sesquiterpene ozonolysis in Amazonia

Through rapid reactions with ozone, which can initiate the formation of secondary organic aerosols, the emission of sesquiterpenes from vegetation in Amazonia may have significant impacts on tropospheric chemistry and climate. Little is known, however, about sesquiterpene emissions, transport, and chemistry within plant canopies owing to analytical difficulties stemming from very low ambient concentrations, high reactivities, and sampling losses. Here, we present ambient sesquiterpene concentration measurements obtained during the 2010 dry season within and above a primary tropical forest canopy in Amazonia. We show that by peaking at night instead of during the day, and near the ground instead of within the canopy, sesquiterpene concentrations followed a pattern different from that of monoterpenes, suggesting that unlike monoterpene emissions, which are mainly light dependent, sesquiterpene emissions are mainly temperature dependent. In addition, we observed that sesquiterpene concentrations were inversely related with ozone (with respect to time of day and vertical concentration), suggesting that ambient concentrations are highly sensitive to ozone. These conclusions are supported by experiments in a tropical rain forest mesocosm, where little atmospheric oxidation occurs and sesquiterpene and monoterpene concentrations followed similar diurnal patterns. We estimate that the daytime dry season ozone flux of -0.6 to -1.5 nmol m -2 s-1 due to in-canopy sesquiterpene reactivity could account for 7%-28% of the net ozone flux. Our study provides experimental evidence that a large fraction of total plant sesquiterpene emissions (46%-61% by mass) undergo within-canopy ozonolysis, which may benefit plants by reducing ozone uptake and its associated oxidative damage. © 2011 by the American Geophysical Union