title: Strong emission of methyl chloride from tropical plants.
abstract: Methyl chloride is the largest natural source of ozone-depleting chlorine compounds, and accounts for about 15 per cent of the present atmospheric chlorine content. This contribution was likely to have been relatively greater in pre-industrial times, when additional anthropogenic sources-such as chlorofluorocarbons-were absent. Although it has been shown that there are large emissions of methyl chloride from coastal lands in the tropics, there remains a substantial shortfall in the overall methyl chloride budget. Here we present observations of large emissions of methyl chloride from some common tropical plants (certain types of ferns and Dipterocarpaceae), ranging from 0.1 to 3.7 microg per gram of dry leaf per hour. On the basis of these preliminary measurements, the methyl chloride flux from Dipterocarpaceae in southeast Asia alone is estimated at 0.91 Tg yr-1, which could explain a large portion of missing methyl chloride sources. With continuing tropical deforestation, natural sources of chlorine compounds may accordingly decrease in the future. Conversely, the abundance of massive ferns in the Carboniferous period may have created an atmosphere rich in methyl chloride.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan. yokouchi@nies.go.jp
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yokouchi
authors.forename: Masumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inuzuka
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yukawa
mesh_terms: D001210:Asia, Southeastern; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry*; D018533:Biomass; D002713:Chlorine / Q000032:analysis; D029624:Ferns / Q000378:metabolism; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000378:metabolism; D008737:Methyl Chloride / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D013461:Sulfur Oxides / Q000378:metabolism; D014197:Trees / Q000378:metabolism; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D013461:Sulfur Oxides; D002713:Chlorine; C010063:carbonyl sulfide; D008737:Methyl Chloride