Abstract
Isoprene, monoterpene, and other volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from grasslands, shrublands, forests, and peatlands in China were characterized to estimate their regional magnitudes and to compare these emissions with those from landscapes of North America, Europe, and Africa. Ecological and VOC emission sampling was conducted at 52 sites centered in and around major research stations located in seven different regions of China: Inner Mongolia (temperate), Changbai Mountain (boreal‐temperate), Beijing Mountain (temperate), Dinghu Mountain (subtropical), Ailao Mountain (subtropical), Kunming (subtropical), and Xishuangbanna (tropical). Transects were used to sample plant species and growth form composition, leafy (green) biomass, and leaf area in forests representing nearly all the major forest types of China. Leafy biomass was determined using generic algorithms based on tree diameter, canopy structure, and absolute cover. Measurements of VOC emissions were made on 386 of the 541 recorded species using a portable photo‐ionization detector method. For 105 species, VOC emissions were also measured using a flow‐through leaf cuvette sampling/gas chromatography analysis method. Results indicate that isoprene and monoterpene emissions, as well as leafy biomass, vary systematically along gradients of ecological succession in the same manner found in previous studies in the United States, Canada, and Africa. Applying these results to a regional VOC emissions model, we arrive at a value of 21 Tg C for total annual biogenic VOC emissions from China, compared to 5 Tg C of VOCs released annually from anthropogenic sources there. The isoprene and monoterpene emissions are nearly the same as those reported for Europe, which is comparable in size to China.
Highlights
[2] Recent work on the ecological and evolutionary relationships of plants that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has revealed patterns which suggest that biogenic VOCs may play adaptive roles in the ACH 16 - 2 KLINGER ET AL.: VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND EMISSIONS IN CHINA successional peatlands [Klinger et al, 1998; Guenther et al, 1999a; Helmig et al, 1999b; Isebrands et al, 1999; Schaab et al, 2000; Westberg et al, 2000]
[4] In this paper we extend to China the investigation of VOC emissions and ecosystem succession by conducting a species-by-species survey of isoprene and monoterpene emissions and characterizing vegetation composition and structure along successional gradients in boreal, temperate, subtropical, and tropical ecosystems there
105 species were sampled using the flow-through leaf cuvette method similar to that described by Harley et al [1997] except that the cuvette system was custom-made at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) (Boulder, CO)
Summary
[2] Recent work on the ecological and evolutionary relationships of plants that emit (nonmethane) volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has revealed patterns which suggest that biogenic VOCs may play adaptive roles in the. [3] Such ecological patterns present opportunities to derive landscape-level VOC fluxes from models parameterized with remotely sensed vegetation data classified according to ecosystem age and/or disturbance regime. In rain forests especially, conventional ground-based methods which involve inventorying emissions of each species to characterize landscapelevel VOC fluxes are time-consuming and difficult. The utility, of a succession-based model for predicting how VOC emissions from terrestrial ecosystems will change with time relies heavily on the degree to which the successional patterns in emissions are global. [4] In this paper we extend to China the investigation of VOC emissions and ecosystem succession by conducting a species-by-species survey of isoprene and monoterpene emissions and characterizing vegetation composition and structure along successional gradients in boreal, temperate, subtropical, and tropical ecosystems there.
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