Description: Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuels

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2015

Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuels

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,...

Personal Name(s):	Misztal, P. K. (Corresponding author)
	Hewitt, C. N. / Wildt, J. / Blande, J. D. / Eller, A. S. D. / Fares, S. / Gentner, D. R. / Gilman, J. B. / Graus, M. / Greenberg, J. / Guenther, A. B. / Hansel, A. / Harley, P. / Huang, M. / Jardine, K. / Karl, T. / Kaser, L. / Keutsch, F. N. / Kiendler-Scharr, A. / Kleist, E. / Lerner, B. M. / Li, T. / Mak, J. / Nölscher, A. C. / Schnitzhofer, R. / Sinha, V. / Thornton, B. / Warneke, C. / Wegener, F. / Werner, C. / Williams, J. / Worton, D. R. / Yassaa, N. / Goldstein, A. H.
Contributing Institute:	Pflanzenwissenschaften; IBG-2 Troposphäre; IEK-8
Published in:	Scientific reports, 5 (2015) S. 12064, 1-10
Imprint:	London Nature Publishing Group 2015
DOI:	10.1038/srep12064
PubMed ID:	26165168
Document Type:	Journal Article
Research Program:	Tropospheric trace substances and their transformation processes
Link:	Get full text OpenAccess OpenAccess
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep12064 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/9445 in citations.

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.