title: Off-season biogenic volatile organic compound emissions from heath mesocosms: responses to vegetation cutting.
abstract: Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) affect both atmospheric processes and ecological interactions. Our primary aim was to differentiate between BVOC emissions from above- and belowground plant parts and heath soil outside the growing season. The second aim was to assess emissions from herbivory, mimicked by cutting the plants. Mesocosms from a temperate Deschampsia flexuosa-dominated heath ecosystem and a subarctic mixed heath ecosystem were either left intact, the aboveground vegetation was cut, or all plant parts (including roots) were removed. For 3-5 weeks, BVOC emissions were measured in growth chambers by an enclosure method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. CO2 exchange, soil microbial biomass, and soil carbon and nitrogen concentrations were also analyzed. Vegetation cutting increased BVOC emissions by more than 20-fold, and the induced compounds were mainly eight-carbon compounds and sesquiterpenes. In the Deschampsia heath, the overall low BVOC emissions originated mainly from soil. In the mixed heath, root, and soil emissions were negligible. Net BVOC emissions from roots and soil of these well-drained heaths do not significantly contribute to ecosystem emissions, at least outside the growing season. If insect outbreaks become more frequent with climate change, ecosystem BVOC emissions will periodically increase due to herbivory.
authors: Terrestrial Ecology Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark ; Center for Permafrost, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors: Riikka
authors: R
authors: Rinnan
authors: Diana
authors: D
authors: Gierth
authors: Merete
authors: M
authors: Bilde
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Rosenørn
authors: Anders
authors: A
authors: Michelsen
keywords: BVOC; Deschampsia flexuosa; arctic; grazing; induced volatiles; plant wounding; sesquiterpenes; soil
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