Monoterpene fluxes measured above a Japanese red pine forest at Oshiba plateau, Japan

Abstract

Monoterpene fluxes above a Japanese red pine ( Pinus densiflora) forest in Japan were measured with a heat balance method from May to November 2000. The most abundant monoterpenes were α-pinene and limonene+ β-phellandrene. Degradation losses of the major monoterpenes by the reactions with ozone and OH during transfer between the two sampling heights were estimated to be negligibly small. The highest values of average fluxes were observed in June measurement period, with values for α-pinene and limonene+ β-phellandrene of 0.6 and 0.5 nmol m −2 s −1. Their average fluxes in September, October and November measurement periods were almost the same and lowest. Vertical profiles of monoterpene concentrations inside the forest suggest that large amounts of monoterpenes are accumulated in the aerial space in the forest and transferred to the atmosphere above. The difference between logarithms of measured and calculated total monoterpene fluxes, ln F mea –ln F cal , had positive values in many morning measurements and negative values in most late afternoon measurements, indicating that monoterpenes accumulated during the night were transported to the upper atmosphere the next morning and they began to accumulate again in the late afternoon, following a decrease of turbulent mixing. Leaf wetness effect was also considered and, finally, a simple model was proposed to explain controlling parameters for monoterpene flux above the forest.