Abstract
BackgroundBiogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) emitted by plants play an important role for ecological and physiological processes, for example as response to stressors. These emitted compounds are involved in chemical processes within the atmosphere and contribute to the formation of aerosols and ozone. Direct measurement of BVOC emissions requires a specialized sample system in order to obtain repeatable and comparable results. These systems need to be constructed carefully since BVOC measurements may be disturbed by several side effects, e.g., due to wrong material selection and lacking system stability.ResultsIn order to assess BVOC emission rates, a four plant chamber system was constructed, implemented and throughout evaluated by synthetic tests and in two case studies on 3-year-old sweet chestnut seedlings. Synthetic system test showed a stable sampling with good repeatability and low memory effects. The first case study demonstrated the capability of the system to screen multiple trees within a few days and revealed three different emission patterns of sweet chestnut trees. The second case study comprised an application of drought stress on two seedlings compared to two in parallel assessed seedlings of a control. Here, a clear reduction of BVOC emissions during drought stress was observed.ConclusionThe developed system allows assessing BVOC as well as CO2 and water vapor gas exchange of four tree specimens automatically and in parallel with repeatable results. A canopy volume of 30 l can be investigated, which constitutes in case of tree seedlings the whole canopy. Longer lasting experiments of e.g., 1–3 weeks can be performed easily without any significant plant interference.
Highlights
Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) emitted by plants play an important role for ecological and physiological processes, for example as response to stressors
The annual global flux of BVOC of 1.091 Gt a−1 for the year 2000 is estimated to consist of 49% isoprene, 14% monoterpene and 35% of various other volatile organic compounds (VOC) [1]
The production and emission of BVOC by plants is linked to a wide range of ecological functions, such as response to herbivore feeding by attracting potential predators or acting as repellent [4,5,6,7]; communication processes among plants or between plants and insects [8], e.g., BVOC related to herbivory induce the production of defense substances in non-attacked specimens [7, 9]; and attraction of pollinators to open flowers [5]
Summary
Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) emitted by plants play an important role for ecological and physiological processes, for example as response to stressors. These emitted compounds are involved in chemical processes within the atmosphere and contribute to the formation of aerosols and ozone. Direct measurement of BVOC emissions requires a specialized sample system in order to obtain repeatable and comparable results. These systems need to be constructed carefully since BVOC measurements may be disturbed by several side effects, e.g., due to wrong material selection and lacking system stability. For the plant itself BVOC seem to reduce oxidative stress in case of heat waves or high ozone concentrations [10] and
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