Characteristics of biogenic volatile organic compounds emitted from major species of street trees and urban forests

Abstract

Emission characteristics of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) (such as isoprene and monoterpenes) emitted from major species of street trees and urban forests by variations in temperature and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were investigated. The isoprene and monoterpene emission rates from Prunus sargentii, Ginkgo biloba, Zelkova serrata and Taxus cuspidata were meager. In contrast, the isoprene and monoterpene emission rates from Metasequoia glyptostroboides were very high. In particular, the emission of α-pinene from Metasequoia glyptostroboides was over 10,000 times higher than that from Ginkgo biloba. The patterns of isoprene emissions from the four tree species except for Metasequoia glyptostroboides concerning temperature and PAR were difficult to determine because the emission rate is very low. However, monoterpene emissions from all five tree species were clearly affected by temperature and PAR. These results showed that the characteristics of isoprene and monoterpene emissions differed depending on the tree species. Regarding monoterpene composition, α-pinene (81.3%) accounts for the majority of total monoterpenes from Metasequoia glyptostroboides. This could be a critical consideration when planting trees in an urban forest because BVOC emissions (e.g., α-pinene) have been well known to affect ground-level ozone formation rate via photochemical reaction with NOX. Since Metasequoia glyptostroboides showed relatively high BVOC emissions, the use of this type of tree in an urban forest with relatively high nitrogen oxide emissions should be carefully considered.