Forest VOC fluxes during an extreme drought

What is it about?

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) exchanged between vegetation and the atmosphere play key ecological and atmospheric roles, yet the ecosystem-level response of BVOC emissions to drought remains uncertain. In 2012 we measured BVOC fluxes in an oak-dominated temperate forest of the central USA with the eddy covariance technique and found that BVOC emissions were dominated by high fluxes of isoprene. During an extreme drought event in summer, BVOC emissions were strongly suppressed although this decrease was not adequately simulated by existing BVOC emission models. Improving these BVOC models is needed for better forecasting of climate and air quality.

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