Long term measurements of volatile organic compounds exchanges above a maize field at Lonzee (Belgium)

in Communications in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences (2013, February), 78(1), 127-132

VOC (volatile organic compounds) include a wide set of molecules which are mostly emitted by the plants. Atmospheric scientists are strongly interested in these compounds because of their important role ... [more ▼]

VOC (volatile organic compounds) include a wide set of molecules which are mostly emitted by the plants. Atmospheric scientists are strongly interested in these compounds because of their important role in the atmospheric chemistry and their final impact on air pollution and climate change. Evaluation of current and future VOC emissions is thus necessary and requires a comprehensive understanding of VOC production and exchange dynamics under a wide panel of climatic conditions and ecosystems. Forest and non pastured grasslands have been largely studied for the last decade. However, knowledge about VOC fluxes from croplands remains scarce. Our study focuses on the VOC exchanges between a maize field and the atmosphere. It is incorporated in a wider project that aims to study VOC fluxes from two croplands (maize and winter wheat) and a pastured grassland. VOC fluxes have been measured on a maize field during the whole growing season using a micrometeorological method (eddy covariance). While first results show half-hourly bidirectionnal exchanges among all the preselected compounds, in average methanol stands for the greatest emitted VOC, followed by green leaf volatiles, and acetic acid is the greatest taken up VOC. Small isoprene and monoterpenes fluxes are also observed. A diurnal pattern is found for all those VOC, with greater emission/uptake during the day, suggesting a flux dependence on environmental parameters. These environmental controls will be further investigated [less ▲]

Measurement and modeling of methanol deposition/emission in a mixed forest

in Geophysical Research Abstracts (2011, April 07), 13

Effect of seasonality and short-term light and temperature history on monoterpene emissions from European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

in Hansel, Armin; Dunkl, Jürgen (Eds.) 5th International PTR-MS Conference on Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry and its Applications (2011, January)

Branch enclosure measurements of monoterpene emision rates have been performed at different positions in the canopy of a European beech tree in natural environmental conditions. Strong and position ... [more ▼]

Branch enclosure measurements of monoterpene emision rates have been performed at different positions in the canopy of a European beech tree in natural environmental conditions. Strong and position-dependent standard emission rate variations were observed in the course of the growth season. By using the obtained dataset and a modified vesrion of the MEGAN algorithm, the response of the emissions to short-term light and temperature history was investigated [less ▲]

VOC emissions from a temperate mixed forest in Belgium measured by eddy-covariance

Poster (2010, May)

Forest ecosystems are known to be important emitters of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC). They play an important role in the atmospheric chemistry and may contribute to the formation of ozone ... [more ▼]

Forest ecosystems are known to be important emitters of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC). They play an important role in the atmospheric chemistry and may contribute to the formation of ozone and aerosols with consequences on air quality and on climate. In order to better understand the effects of environmental parameters on the emissions, micrometeorological flux measurements were carried out above a mixed forest (Fagus sylvatica, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Abies alba, Picea abies) at the Vielsalm experimental site (Belgium) from July to November 2009. The flux measurements were obtained by the eddy-covariance technique using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. In our first measurement campaign, among other VOC compounds, isoprene (m/z 69) and monoterpenoid compounds (m/z 137) have been measured continuously with a data coverage of 75 and 58 % respectively, allowing robust statistical analysis. In our analysis, we focused on these two main emissions. A footprint analysis showed that Fagus sylvatica seems to be the main emitter of m/z 137 and Abies alba seems to be the main emitter of m/z 69. BVOCs fluxes present an exponential response to temperature. This response is more pronounced for m/z 69 while it shows the strongest seasonal evolution for m/z 137. A light dependence of m/z 69 and m/z 137 fluxes was observed but the relationship did not exhibit the same behaviour before (hyperbolic relation) and after midday (linear relation). This behaviour difference induced a hysteresis effect on the daily evolution of averaged fluxes. A robust local minimum was also observed just before midday for m/z 69 (less obvious for m/z 137) during July-August period. This minimum is not observed in the CO2 fluxes which are also measured in Vielsalm. The light dependence of BVOC emissions suggests that m/z 69 and m/z 137 emissions are directly linked to the photosynthetic cycle but the presence of the midday local minimum suggests that other processes influence the measured BVOC fluxes. As for the relation with air temperature, a seasonal evolution of flux-light dependence was far more evident for m/z 137 than for m/z 69. This seasonal variation could be explained by a phenological effect. As Fagus sylvatica is the main m/z 137 emitter, its flux is probably influenced by leaves ageing while m/z 69, as mainly emitted by Abies alba, is less influenced by needles ageing. A wind speed dependence of BVOCs fluxes was also observed, the flux increasing linearly with wind speed. This surprising result will be discussed. [less ▲]