Secondary aerosol formation from stress-induced biogenic emissions and possible climate feedbacks

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols impact climate by scattering and absorbing solar radiation and by acting as ice and cloud condensation nuclei. Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) comprise an important component of atmospheric aerosols. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) emitted by vegetation are a major source of SOA. Pathogens and insect attacks, heat waves and droughts can induce stress to plants that may impact their BVOC emissions, and hence the yield and type of formed SOA, and possibly their climatic effects. This raises questions whether stress-induced changes in SOA formation may attenuate or amplify effects of climate change. In this study we assess the potential impact of stress-induced BVOC emissions on SOA formation for tree species typical for mixed deciduous and Boreal Eurasian forests. We studied the photochemical SOA formation for infested plants in a laboratory setup under well-controlled conditions and applied in addition heat and drought stress. The results indicate that stress conditions substantially modify SOA formation. While sesquiterpenes, methyl salicylate, and C17-BVOC increase SOA yield, green leaf volatiles suppress SOA formation. By classifying emission types, stressors and SOA formation potential, we propose possible climatic feedbacks regarding aerosol effects. We conclude that stress situations for plants due to climate change should be considered in climate-vegetation feedback mechanisms.

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Secondary aerosol formation from stress-induced biogenic emissions and possible climate feedbacks

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-13-8755-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 8755-8770 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Th. F. Mentel ◽

E. Kleist ◽

S. Andres ◽

M. Dal Maso ◽

T. Hohaus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Aerosol Formation ◽

Climatic Effects ◽

Vegetation Feedback ◽

Leaf Volatiles ◽

Laboratory Setup

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols impact climate by scattering and absorbing solar radiation and by acting as ice and cloud condensation nuclei. Biogenic secondary organic aerosols (BSOAs) comprise an important component of atmospheric aerosols. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted by vegetation are the source of BSOAs. Pathogens and insect attacks, heat waves and droughts can induce stress to plants that may impact their BVOC emissions, and hence the yield and type of formed BSOAs, and possibly their climatic effects. This raises questions of whether stress-induced changes in BSOA formation may attenuate or amplify effects of climate change. In this study we assess the potential impact of stress-induced BVOC emissions on BSOA formation for tree species typical for mixed deciduous and Boreal Eurasian forests. We studied the photochemical BSOA formation for plants infested by aphids in a laboratory setup under well-controlled conditions and applied in addition heat and drought stress. The results indicate that stress conditions substantially modify BSOA formation and yield. Stress-induced emissions of sesquiterpenes, methyl salicylate, and C17-BVOCs increase BSOA yields. Mixtures including these compounds exhibit BSOA yields between 17 and 33%, significantly higher than mixtures containing mainly monoterpenes (4–6% yield). Green leaf volatiles suppress SOA formation, presumably by scavenging OH, similar to isoprene. By classifying emission types, stressors and BSOA formation potential, we discuss possible climatic feedbacks regarding aerosol effects. We conclude that stress situations for plants due to climate change should be considered in climate–vegetation feedback mechanisms.

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Impact of heat stress on the emissions of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phenolic BVOC and green leaf volatiles from several tree species

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-9-9533-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 9533-9570

Author(s):

E. Kleist ◽

T. F. Mentel ◽

S. Andres ◽

A. Bohne ◽

A. Folkers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Tree Species ◽

De Novo ◽

Heat Waves ◽

European Beech ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Green Leaf ◽

Leaf Volatiles ◽

Resin Ducts ◽

Laboratory Setup

Abstract. Changes in the biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from European beech, Palestine oak, Scots pine, and Norway spruce exposed to heat stress were measured in a laboratory setup. In general, heat stress decreased the de novo emissions of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and phenolic BVOC. Decreasing emission strength with heat stress was independent of the tree species and whether the de novo emissions being constitutive or induced by biotic stress. In contrast, heat stress induced emissions of green leaf volatiles. It also amplified the release of monoterpenes stored in resin ducts of conifers probably due to heat-induced damage of these resin ducts. The increased release of monoterpenes could be strong and long lasting. But, despite of such strong monoterpene emission pulses, the net effect of heat stress on BVOC emissions from conifers can be an overall decrease. In particular during insect attack on conifers the plants showed de novo emissions of sesquiterpenes and phenolic BVOC which exceeded constitutive monoterpene emissions from pools. The heat stress induced decrease of these de novo emissions was larger than the increased release caused by damage of resin ducts. We project that global change induced heat waves may cause increased BVOC emissions only in cases where the respective areas are predominantly covered with conifers that do not emit high amounts of sesquiterpenes and phenolic BVOC. Otherwise the overall effect of heat stress will be a decrease in BVOC emissions.

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The influence of global warming on natural disasters and their public health outcomes

American Journal of Disaster Medicine ◽

10.5055/ajdm.2007.0007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 33-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

James H. Diaz, MD, MPH-TM, DrPH

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Natural Disasters ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Heat Stroke ◽

Health Impact ◽

Climatic Effects ◽

Cascading Effects

With a documented increase in average global surface temperatures of 0.6ºC since 1975, Earth now appears to be warming due to a variety of climatic effects, most notably the cascading effects of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities. There remains, however, no universal agreement on how rapidly, regionally, or asymmetrically the planet will warm or on the true impact of global warming on natural disasters and public health outcomes. Most reports to date of the public health impact of global warming have been anecdotal and retrospective in design and have focused on the increase in heat-stroke deaths following heat waves and on outbreaks of airborne and arthropod-borne diseases following tropical rains and flooding that resulted from fluctuations in ocean temperatures. The effects of global warming on rainfall and drought, tropical cyclone and tsunami activity, and tectonic and volcanic activity will have far-reaching public health effects not only on environmentally associated disease outbreaks but also on global food supplies and population movements. As a result of these and other recognized associations between climate change and public health consequences, many of which have been confounded by deficiencies in public health infrastructure and scientific debates over whether climate changes are spawned by atmospheric cycles or anthropogenic influences, the active responses to progressive climate change must include combinations of economic, environmental, legal, regulatory, and, most importantly, public health measures.

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Irreversible impacts of heat on the emissions of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phenolic BVOC and green leaf volatiles from several tree species

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-9-5111-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 5111-5123 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

E. Kleist ◽

T. F. Mentel ◽

S. Andres ◽

A. Bohne ◽

A. Folkers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Stress ◽

High Temperature ◽

High Temperatures ◽

Tree Species ◽

De Novo ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Leaf Volatiles ◽

Resin Ducts ◽

As Stress

Abstract. Climate change will induce extended heat waves to parts of the vegetation more frequently. High temperatures may act as stress (thermal stress) on plants changing emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). As BVOCs impact the atmospheric oxidation cycle and aerosol formation, it is important to explore possible alterations of BVOC emissions under high temperature conditions. Applying heat to European beech, Palestine oak, Scots pine, and Norway spruce in a laboratory setup either caused the well-known exponential increases of BVOC emissions or induced irreversible changes of BVOC emissions. Considering only irreversible changes of BVOC emissions as stress impacts, we found that high temperatures decreased the de novo emissions of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and phenolic BVOC. This behaviour was independent of the tree species and whether the de novo emissions were constitutive or induced by biotic stress. In contrast, application of thermal stress to conifers amplified the release of monoterpenes stored in resin ducts of conifers and induced emissions of green leaf volatiles. In particular during insect attack on conifers, the plants showed de novo emissions of sesquiterpenes and phenolic BVOCs, which exceeded constitutive monoterpene emissions from pools. The heat-induced decrease of de novo emissions was larger than the increased monoterpene release caused by damage of resin ducts. For insect-infested conifers the net effect of thermal stress on BVOC emissions could be an overall decrease. Global change-induced heat waves may put hard thermal stress on plants. If so, we project that BVOC emissions increase is more than predicted by models only in areas predominantly covered with conifers that do not emit high amounts of sesquiterpenes and phenolic BVOCs. Otherwise overall effects of high temperature stress will be lower increases of BVOC emissions than predicted by algorithms that do not consider stress impacts.

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Establishing the contribution of lawn mowing to atmospheric aerosol levels in American suburbs

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-13-24435-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 24435-24480

Author(s):

R. M. Harvey ◽

J. Zahardis ◽

G. A. Petrucci

Keyword(s):

Complex Mixture ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Aerial Photographs ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Experimental Chamber ◽

Aerosol Formation ◽

Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer ◽

Leaf Volatiles ◽

Mixing Ratios ◽

Hexenyl Acetate

Abstract. Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a class of wound-induced volatile organic compounds emitted by several plant species. Turfgrasses emit a complex profile of GLVs upon mowing, as evidenced by the "freshly cut grass" smell, some of which are readily oxidized in the atmosphere to contribute to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). The contribution of lawn mowing-induced SOA production may be especially impactful at the urban/suburban interface, where urban hubs provide a source of anthropogenic oxidants and SOA while suburban neighborhoods have the potential to emit large quantities of reactive, mow-induced GLVs. This interface provides a unique opportunity to study aerosol formation in a multi-component system and at a regionally relevant scale. Freshly cut grass was collected from a study site in Essex Junction, Vermont and was placed inside a 775 L Teflon experimental chamber. Thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) was used to characterize the emitted GLV profile. Ozone was introduced to the experimental chamber and TD-GC/MS was used to monitor the consumption of these GLVs and the subsequent evolution of gas phase products while a scanning mobility particle sizer was used to continuously measure aerosol size distributions and mass loadings as a result of grass clipping ozonolysis. Freshly cut grass found to emit a complex mixture of GLVs, dominated by cis-3-hexenyl acetate and cis-3-hexenol, which were released at an initial rate of 1.8 (±0.5) μg and 0.07 (±0.03) μg per square meter of lawn mowed with each mowing. Chamber studies using pure standards of cis-3-hexenyl acetate (CHA) and cis-3-hexenol (HXL) were found to have aerosol yields of 1.2 (±1.1)% and 3.3 (±3.1)%, respectively. Using these aerosol yields and the emission rate of these CHA and HXL by grass, SOA evolution by ozonolysis of grass clippings was predicted. However, the measured SOA mass produced from the ozonolysis of grass clippings exceeded the predicted amount, by upwards of ~ 150%. The ozonolysis of a mixture of CHA and HXL representative of environmental mixing ratios also failed to accurately model the SOA mass produced by grass clippings. Aerial photographs and geospatial analysis were used to determine the turfgrass coverage in a suburban neighborhood, which was then used along with measured SOA production as a function of grass mowed to determine that lawn mowing has the potential to contribute 47 μg m−2 SOA to the atmosphere per mowing event by ozonolysis, which cannot be modeled solely by the ozonolysis of CHA, HXL or a representative mixture of the two.

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Reactive oxidation products promote secondary organic aerosol formation from green leaf volatiles

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-9-3921-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 3921-3943

Author(s):

J. F. Hamilton ◽

A. C. Lewis ◽

T. J. Carey ◽

J. C. Wenger ◽

E. Borrás i Garcia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

First Generation ◽

Secondary Organic Aerosol ◽

Chemical Species ◽

Organic Aerosol ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Oxidation Products ◽

Atmospheric Oxidation ◽

Green Leaf ◽

Aerosol Formation ◽

Leaf Volatiles

Abstract. Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are an important group of chemicals released by vegetation which have emission fluxes that can be significantly increased when plants are damaged or stressed. A series of simulation chamber experiments has been conducted at the European Photoreactor in Valencia, Spain, to investigate secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from the atmospheric oxidation of the major GLVs cis-3-hexenylacetate and cis-3-hexen-1-ol. Liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry was used to identify chemical species present in the SOA. Cis-3-hexen-1-ol proved to be a more efficient SOA precursor due to the high reactivity of its first generation oxidation product, 3-hydroxypropanal, which can hydrate and undergo further reactions with other aldehydes resulting in SOA dominated by higher molecular weight oligomers. The lower SOA yields produced from cis-3-hexenylacetate are attributed to the acetate functionality, which inhibits oligomer formation in the particle phase. Based on observed SOA yields and best estimates of global emissions, these compounds may be calculated to be a substantial unidentified global source of SOA, contributing 1–5 TgC yr−1, equivalent to around a third of that predicted from isoprene. Molecular characterization of the SOA, combined with organic mechanistic information, has provided evidence that the formation of organic aerosols from GLVs is closely related to the reactivity of their first generation atmospheric oxidation products, and indicates that this may be a simple parameter that could be used in assessing the aerosol formation potential for other unstudied organic compounds in the atmosphere.

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Establishing the contribution of lawn mowing to atmospheric aerosol levels in American suburbs

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-14-797-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 797-812 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

R. M. Harvey ◽

J. Zahardis ◽

G. A. Petrucci

Keyword(s):

Multicomponent System ◽

Complex Mixture ◽

Green Leaf Volatiles ◽

Aerial Photographs ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Experimental Chamber ◽

Aerosol Formation ◽

Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer ◽

Leaf Volatiles ◽

Mixing Ratios

Abstract. Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a class of wound-induced volatile organic compounds emitted by several plant species. Turf grasses emit a complex profile of GLVs upon mowing, as evidenced by the "freshly cut grass" smell, some of which are readily oxidized in the atmosphere to contribute to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). The contribution of lawn-mowing-induced SOA production may be especially impactful at the urban–suburban interface, where urban hubs provide a source of anthropogenic oxidants and SOA while suburban neighborhoods have the potential to emit large quantities of reactive, mow-induced GLVs. This interface provides a unique opportunity to study aerosol formation in a multicomponent system and at a regionally relevant scale. Freshly cut grass was collected from a study site in Essex Junction, Vermont, and was placed inside a 775 L Teflon experimental chamber. Thermal desorption gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) was used to characterize the emitted GLV profile. Ozone was introduced to the experimental chamber and TD-GC/MS was used to monitor the consumption of these GLVs and the subsequent evolution of gas-phase products, while a scanning mobility particle sizer was used to continuously measure aerosol size distributions and mass loadings as a result of grass clipping ozonolysis. Freshly cut grass was found to emit a complex mixture of GLVs, dominated by \\textit{cis}-3-hexenyl acetate (CHA) and \\textit{cis}-3-hexenol (HXL), which were released at an initial rate of 1.8 (± 0.5) μg and 0.07 (± 0.03) μg per square meter of lawn mowed with each mowing. Chamber studies using pure standards of CHA and HXL were found to have aerosol yields of 1.2 (± 1.1)% and 3.3 (± 3.1)%, respectively. Using these aerosol yields and the emission rate of CHA and HXL by grass, SOA evolution by ozonolysis of grass clippings was predicted. However, the measured SOA mass produced from the ozonolysis of grass clippings exceeded the predicted amount, by upwards of ~150%. The ozonolysis of a mixture of CHA and HXL representative of environmental mixing ratios also failed to accurately model the SOA mass produced by grass clippings. The disparity between measured SOA mass and the predicted SOA mass suggests that grass clippings contain other SOA precursors in addition to CHA and HXL. Aerial photographs and geospatial analysis were used to determine the area of turfgrass coverage in a suburban neighborhood, which was then used along with measured SOA production as a function of grass mowed to determine that lawn mowing has the potential to contribute 47 μg SOA per m−2 of lawn to the atmosphere per mowing event by ozonolysis, which cannot be modeled solely by the ozonolysis of CHA, HXL or a representative mixture of the two.

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