Volatile organic compound emission and residual substances from plants in light of the globally increasing CO2 level

Abstract

Global carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere is increasing in the last years more than ever with values of 414 ppm in July 2020. For plants, more CO2 in the air is beneficial because the rate of photosynthetic carbon fixation is increasing, which determines more biomass production. An increase in CO2 brings with it climate change, which includes global warming and extreme phenomena. Such stress factors affect the development and metabolic pathways of plants. To counteract the effects of abiotic and biotic stresses, plants used different defense strategies, including volatile organic compounds emission. Plants are emitting different compounds such as terpenes, aromatic compounds, alcohols, and aldehydes. There are many papers which are dealing with the emission of volatile compounds from plants under abiotic and biotic stresses. Our review is focused on the emission of volatile organic compounds from plants under climate change and their implication in atmospheric chemistry and human health.