Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuels
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Atmospheric Chemistry Division.
- Lancaster Univ., Lancaster (United Kingdom)
- Institut IBG-2, Julich (Germany)
- Univ. of Eastern Finland, Kuopio (Finland)
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System, Rome (Italy)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States)
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); ESRL-NOAA, Boulder, CO (United States). Chemical Science Division.
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Atmospheric Chemistry Division.
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Atmospheric Chemistry Division; Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)
- Univ. of Innsbruck, Innsbruck (Austria)
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Atmospheric Chemistry Division; Estonian Univ. of Life Sciences, Tartu (Estonia)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Atmospheric Chemistry Division; Univ. of Innsbruck, Innsbruck (Austria)
- Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (United States)
- Institut IEK-8, Julich (Germany)
- Stony Brook Univ., Stony Brook, NY (United States)
- Max Planck Institut fur Chemie, Mainz (Germany)
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali (India)
- Aerosol Dynamics Inc., Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. Bayreuth, Bayreuth (Germany)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Aerosol Dynamics Inc., Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers (Algeria); Centre de Developpement des Energies Renouvelable, Algiers (Algeria)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Despite the known biochemical production of a range of aromatic compounds by plants and the presence of benzenoids in floral scents, the emissions of only a few benzenoid compounds have been reported from the biosphere to the atmosphere. Here, using evidence from measurements at aircraft, ecosystem, tree, branch and leaf scales, with complementary isotopic labeling experiments, we show that vegetation (leaves, flowers, and phytoplankton) emits a wide variety of benzenoid compounds to the atmosphere at substantial rates. Controlled environment experiments show that plants are able to alter their metabolism to produce and release many benzenoids under stress conditions. The functions of these compounds remain unclear but may be related to chemical communication and protection against stress. We estimate the total global secondary organic aerosol potential from biogenic benzenoids to be similar to that from anthropogenic benzenoids (~10?Tg y-1), pointing to the importance of these natural emissions in atmospheric physics and chemistry.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830; AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1211536
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1407370; OSTI ID: 1700676
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-114338; srep12064
- Journal Information:
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 5; ISSN 2045-2322
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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