Emission of volatile organic compounds by plants on the floor of boreal and mid-latitude forests

Abstract

The forests of the boreal and mid-latitude zones of the Northern Hemisphere are the largest source of reactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have an important impact on the processes occurring in the atmospheric boundary layer. However, the composition of biogenic emissions from them remains incompletely characterized, as evidenced by the significant excess OH radical concentrations predicted by models in comparison with those observed under the forest canopy. The missing OH sink in the models may be related to the fact that they do not take into account the emission of highly reactive VOCs by vegetation on the forest floor. In this work, we report the results of laboratory determinations of the composition of VOCs emitted by representatives of different groups of plants that form the living soil cover (LSC) in the forests of the boreal and mid-latitude zones: bryophytes, small shrubs, herbaceous plants, and ferns. In the chromatograms of volatile emissions of all 11 studied plant species, 254 compounds with carbon atoms ranging in number from two to 20 were registered. All plants were characterized by the emission of terpenes, accounting for 112 compounds, and the second largest group (35 substances) was formed by carbonyl compounds. Both groups of compounds are characterized by high reactivity and are easily included in the processes of gas-phase oxidation with the participation of radicals HO, NO₃ and ozone. These data indicate the importance of a thorough study of the so far disregarded source of VOCs, that is, the LSC in forests.