A model to assess the emission of individual isoprenoids emitted from Italian ecosystems
Author(s)
Kemper Pacheco, Claudia Justina
Date Issued
April 13, 2012
Type
Doctoral Thesis
Abstract
The amount of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) emitted from terrestrial vegetation is of great importance in atmospheric reactivity, particularly, for ozone-forming reactions and as condensation nuclei in aerosol formation and growth (Kavouras et al., 1998). This work presents a detailed inventory for VOCs emissions from vegetation in Italy using an innovative approach. A Geographic Information System (GIS) model was developed to estimate the species-specific BVOC emissions from dominant plant species. The number and type of BVOCs together with the individual values of basal emissions considered in the model were obtained by combining the results obtained in laboratory experiments with those published in literature. The model is unique because until now, biogenic emissions have been expressed only in terms of isoprene and total monoterpenes altogether, while our method provides maps of isoprene and individual monoterpenes at a high-spatial and temporal resolution (~1 km2 and daily time resolutions respectively). The model also introduces the effects of phenological changes of the plant in the emission algorithms of BVOC. Our results show that: a) the main monoterpenes species emitted from Italian forest ecosystems are sabinene and a-pinene; b) annual biogenic isoprene and monoterpene fluxes for the year 2006 were ~27.90 Gg C and ~33.47 Gg C, respectively; c) isoprene, a-pinene, sabinene and b-pinene are the most important compounds emitted from vegetation in Italy; and d) Q. pubescens+Q. petrea+Q. robur, Q. ilex, Q. suber and Fagus sylvatica are the principal BVOC emitting species in the country. The high spatial and temporal resolution, combined with the species-specific emission output, makes the model particularly suitable for assessing local budgets, and for modelling photochemical oxidant at the scale where the ozone pollution is relevant in Italy. An interesting application of the model is the assessment of BVOC emissions due to land use changes produced by biomass burning. This is done through the development of modules to estimate the emissions of pyrogenic and biogenic VOCs.
Additional information
Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia forestale
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