Subarctic warming still boosts plant VOC emissions
After 13 years, +2°C open-top chambers raised subarctic heath sesquiterpenes fivefold and roughly doubled isoprene and monoterpenes, with vegetation shifts helping drive the fluxes.
Source
Climate change-induced vegetation change as a driver of increased subarctic biogenic volatile organic compound emissions
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — Long-term open-top-chamber warming and litter-addition field experiment on subarctic heath BVOC emissions
- N
- N=24 · 24 plots of 120 × 120 cm; n = 6 replicates per treatment after 13 years of warming
- Population
- Subarctic heath vegetation in open-top chambers
- Outcome
- +2°C warming raised sesquiterpene emissions fivefold and roughly doubled isoprene and monoterpenes, with vegetation shifts contributing
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Inspect source passages
Subarctic warming still boosts plant VOC emissions
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
What vegetation changes accompanied warming plus litter in 2010?
In 2010, the coverage of both deciduous and evergreen shrubs increased in the combined warming and litter addition treatment, but no differences were found in 2012 (Table).
What happened to forbs by 2012?
The coverage of forbs was increased by the warming treatment, and the differences found between warming and other treatments were statistically significant in 2012 (Table).
What they did
On a subarctic heath, authors measured BVOCs from plots warmed ~2°C with open-top tents, with/without extra litter, using adsorbent tubes and GC, relating emissions to cover of shrubs, forbs, mosses, and lichens (n=6 plots).
What they found
Warming remained effective after 13 years. Sesquiterpenes rose 5-fold (P=0.006); 2010-average isoprene 1.9× (P=0.003) and monoterpenes 2× (P=0.019). Combined warming+litter increased deciduous and evergreen shrub cover in 2010; forbs increased under warming by 2012. Chamber air during measurements was only +0.5°C.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Tents warm air/soil modestly and alter wind. n=6 is small. Emissions are plot-scale, not a regional atmospheric model, and 2012 vegetation differences were weaker than 2010.
Key terms
- BVOC
- Biogenic volatile organic compounds emitted by plants and soils, including isoprene, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes.
- Open-top chamber
- A plastic tent that passively warms plots (~2°C air, 1–2°C soil here).
- Sesquiterpenes (SQT)
- C15 volatiles that showed the largest (5-fold) warming response.
- Isoprene
- C5H8, the most studied BVOC; here increased 1.9× with warming in 2010.
- Litter addition
- A treatment mimicking extra plant litter under climate change, interacting with warming.
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Quiz yourself
After 13 years, experimental warming:
Common questions
Did plants acclimate so emissions returned to ambient?
No. Warming effects remained strong after 13 years.
Which compound class changed most?
Sesquiterpenes, up fivefold.
Is the extra flux only a hot-chamber artifact?
Unlikely: measurement chambers were only 0.5°C warmer, and vegetation cover also changed.
Did litter always add to warming?
Not simply; some dates showed warming×litter interactions in opposite directions.
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