Diurnal and seasonal variation of monoterpene emission rates for two typical Mediterranean species (Pinus pinea and Quercus ilex) from field measurements—relationship with temperature and PAR

Two of the most typical Mediterranean tree species (Pinus pinea [Pp] and Quercus ilex [Qi]) were screened for emissions of monoterpenes during the period of June 1997–July 1998 in the field at a semi-rural location near Terrassa (Barcelona, Spain) using a bag-enclosure sampling method followed by gas chromatography analysis with mass selective detection (GC/MSD). A mean of about eight samples per day were measured. A periodical sampling throughout 1 yr allowed to examine data for long-term influences. The main compounds emitted from Pp were linalool, limonene, trans-ocimene and 1,8-cineole (80% on average). Eighty percent of total emissions in Qi were β-pinene, α-pinene, myrcene and sabinene, followed by limonene, β-phellandrene, γ-terpinene and trans-ocimene (20%). On average, the standard monoterpene emission rate from Qi was approximately three times higher than from Pp. Diurnal and seasonal emission variations were characterized with regard to temperature and PAR. For both species a statistically significant variation in monoterpene emissions was observed between seasons for 1 yr period. For Pp, the seasonal variability not accounted for by PAR and temperature is also estimated and compared with existing models in the literature.