Seasonal patterns of non-terpenoid C6–C10 VOC emission from seven Mediterranean woody species

The seasonal pattern of non-terpenoid C6–C10 VOC emission by seven Mediterranean woody species (Bupleurum fruticosum, Cistus albidus, Pinus halepensis, Arbutus unedo, Erica arborea, Quercus coccifera, and Q. ilex) was studied under field conditions. Branch chamber samples were sorbed on carbotrap and analyzed by thermal desorption in combination with GC–MS. These non-terpenoid C6–C10 VOC emissions were large, almost of similar magnitude to those of terpenes. Overall, maximum values were recorded in spring and summer (up to 12 μgg−1 DMh−1 in Q. ilex) and minimum values in autumn and winter (up to 5 μgg−1 DMh−1 in Q. ilex). These C6–C10 VOC emissions represented 2.82% of the photosynthetic C fixation in summer and 0.22% in winter. Some compounds such as 2-ethoxyethyl acetate were emitted by most species, others such as 3-hexen-1-ol, phenol or decanal were significantly emitted only by few species. The greatest diversity of emitted non-terpenoid C6–C10 VOCs was observed in spring and in Q. ilex. Temperature seemed a strong driver of these seasonal changes but other species-specific and seasonal factors seem involved. These results indicate that C6–C10 non-terpenoid VOCs contribute a rather significant fraction of the total biogenic VOC flux from these Mediterranean species, especially in spring and summer, and therefore should be considered in VOC emission inventories and in model predictions of tropospheric chemistry.