Seasonal variations of monoterpene emissions from Pinus densiflora in East Asia

Abstract

The emission rates and compositions of monoterpene from Pinus densiflora were investigated in the Gumsung (GM) and Worak (WM) mountains. The standard emission rates (ERs: ERs is the monoterpene emission rate at standard temperature, 30 °C) from P. densiflora ranged from 0.817 to 1.704 (μg C/gdw-h). The ERs and β-values of total monoterpene were measured at the two study sites (GM and WM). In the spring and summer, the ERs were the highest, while relatively low values (<0.058 μg C/gdw-h) were measured in the autumn and winter. In GM and WM sites the β-value obtained for the different seasons ranged from 0.047 to 0.179, with an average of 0.09. The major monoterpene compounds from P. densiflora were α-pinene, myrcene, β-phellandrene, d-limonene and α-terpinene. The fractional compositions of individual monoterpene compounds were significantly different between the two test sites in the summer and winter. The ERs of the older group (31–40 years) were higher than those in the younger group (21–30 years). However, the monoterpene compositions were similar between the two age groups.