image: A tundra landscape on Disko Island, Greenland. view more
Credit: Image credit: Riikka Rinnan.
Researchers report impacts of warming on the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from Arctic tundra vegetation. The release of VOCs from plants is a temperature-dependent phenomenon. Although the rapidly warming Arctic is expected to significantly increase VOC emissions, the relative contributions of temperature increase and vegetation change are unknown. Riikka Rinnan and colleagues compiled data from warming experiments conducted in the Arctic tundra and from dynamic ecosystem models to assess VOC emissions in a warming climate. The analysis suggests that while the indirect effects of warming on VOC emissions, namely extension of the growing season and vegetation changes, are significant, they are smaller than the direct effects of temperature. Large geographical variations in VOC emissions across the Arctic are likely and dependent on local vegetation cover and climate conditions. Thus, the response of VOC emissions in the Arctic tundra is likely to be complex and interconnected, involving the local climate, vegetation, and interactions between the ecosystem and atmosphere, with local and regional scales of atmospheric impact. According to the authors, the increased VOC emissions from the tundra may affect climate feedbacks, particularly through the formation of atmospheric particles and clouds as well as altered atmospheric chemistry.
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Article #20-08901:
"Separating direct and indirect effects of rising temperatures on biogenic volatile emissions in the Arctic," by Riikka Rinnan et al.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Riikka Rinnan,
University of Copenhagen, DENMARK;
e-mail: <riikkar@bio.ku.dk>