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Multi-Season Monoterpene and Sesquiterpene Analysis of Pinus taeda Needle Tissue
Citation:
Daly, R. Multi-Season Monoterpene and Sesquiterpene Analysis of Pinus taeda Needle Tissue. Presented at Gordon Research Conference, Girona, SPAIN, June 29 - July 04, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this poster is to present at the 2014 Gordon Research Conference: Biogenic Hydrocarbons and the Atmosphere in Girona, Spain. Sources of Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC), far outweigh all other sources of hydrocarbons in the global atmosphere. They interact with anthropogenic nitrogen and sulfur emissions to produce toxic compounds, and therefore must be accurately modeled and predicted to understand exposure to tropospheric ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM). Emission characterization of biogenic hydrocarbons is a field of expertise of the traveler and a major interest to both the EPA and the international community for improving air quality models to help reduce criteria and toxic pollutants, including international transport of PM, CO and O3.
Description:
Pinus taeda (Loblolly pine) is one of the worlds most important timber crop and accounts for a significant portion of the southeastern U.S. landcover. Biogenic voltile organic compound (BVOC) content was extracted from the tissue material of P. taeda needles and analyzed over a multi-year period from an experimental forest in North Carolina, USA. Seasonal patterns in needle monoterpene (MT), oxygenated MNT (MToxy), sesquiterpene (SQT), and oxygenated SQT (SQToxy) concentration and percent speciation by BVOC class are examined to increase our understanding of controls on the emission of these compounds into the atmosphere. Twenty six compounds were quantified. A possible CO2 effect was detected for total SQT (suppression at elevated CO2), and a difference in MT composition. This works seasonal MT and SQT concentration and composition data are compared with field emission studies conducted at the same site, including branch enclosure emission rate studies and REA Flux data.Emission models such as the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) should include temporal production and storage effects of BVOC, in particular SQT, which interact with phenology and temperature. Only the latter is included in current emission models. CO2 effects and needle VOC production rate controlling factors, ie. exchange from needle tissue concentration to gas phase emission, should be further investigated with the goals of including these effects in emission models.