Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuels

P K Misztal; C N Hewitt; J Wildt; J D Blande; A S D Eller; S Fares; D R Gentner; J B Gilman; M Graus; J Greenberg; A B Guenther; A Hansel; P Harley; M Huang; K Jardine; T Karl; L Kaser; F N Keutsch; A Kiendler-Scharr; E Kleist; B M Lerner; T Li; J Mak; A C Nölscher; R Schnitzhofer; V Sinha; B Thornton; C Warneke; F Wegener; C Werner; J Williams; D R Worton; N Yassaa; A H Goldstein

doi:10.1038/srep12064

Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuels

Sci Rep. 2015 Jul 13:5:12064. doi: 10.1038/srep12064.

Authors

P K Misztal¹, C N Hewitt², J Wildt³, J D Blande⁴, A S D Eller⁵, S Fares⁶, D R Gentner⁷, J B Gilman⁸, M Graus⁸, J Greenberg⁹, A B Guenther¹⁰, A Hansel¹¹, P Harley¹², M Huang⁹, K Jardine¹³, T Karl¹⁴, L Kaser¹⁵, F N Keutsch¹⁶, A Kiendler-Scharr¹⁷, E Kleist³, B M Lerner⁸, T Li⁴, J Mak¹⁸, A C Nölscher¹⁹, R Schnitzhofer¹¹, V Sinha²⁰, B Thornton²¹, C Warneke⁸, F Wegener²², C Werner²², J Williams¹⁹, D R Worton²³, N Yassaa²⁴, A H Goldstein²⁵

Affiliations

¹ 1] University of California Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [2] National Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
² Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.
³ Institut IBG-2, Phytosphäre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
⁴ Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland.
⁵ 1] CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309 USA [2] University of Colorado, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, Colorado 80309 USA.
⁶ 1] University of California Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [2] Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System, Rome, Italy.
⁷ 1] University of California Berkeley, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [2] Yale University, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
⁸ 1] CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309 USA [2] ESRL-NOAA, Chemical Sciences Division, Boulder CO 80305 USA.
⁹ National Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
¹⁰ 1] National Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Boulder, CO 80301, USA [2] Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Richland, WA, USA [3] Washington State University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pullman, WA, USA.
¹¹ University of Innsbruck, Institute for Ion Physics and Applied Physics, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
¹² 1] National Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Boulder, CO 80301, USA [2] Estonian University of Life Sciences, Department of Plant Physiology, Tartu, Estonia.
¹³ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Climate Sciences Department, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
¹⁴ University of Innsbruck, Institute of Atmospheric And Cryospheric Sciences, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
¹⁵ 1] National Center for Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Boulder, CO 80301, USA [2] University of Innsbruck, Institute for Ion Physics and Applied Physics, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
¹⁶ Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
¹⁷ Institut IEK-8, Troposphäre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
¹⁸ Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
¹⁹ Max Planck Institut für Chemie, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
²⁰ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, India.
²¹ University of Northern Colorado, School of Biological Sciences, Greeley, CO 80639, USA.
²² University Bayreuth, AgroEcosystem Research, BAYCEER, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
²³ 1] University of California Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA [2] Aerosol Dynamics Inc., Berkeley, CA, 94710, USA.
²⁴ 1] USTHB, University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Faculty of Chemistry, Algiers, Algeria [2] Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelable, CDER, Algiers, Algeria.
²⁵ University of California Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Atmosphere / analysis*
Benzene / chemistry*
Climate
Ecosystem
Fossil Fuels / analysis*
Stress, Physiological / physiology
Trees / metabolism*
Volatile Organic Compounds / chemistry*

Substances

Fossil Fuels
Volatile Organic Compounds
Benzene