Author(s)

S. Andreani-Aksoyoglu & J. Keller

Abstract

Emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) from forests, agricultural crops and pasture were estimated for Switzerland. Biogenic emissions were found to be about 24% of the total annual VOC emissions. Calculations showed that the forests are the main sources of the biogenic emissions whereas emissions from crops are only 7%, coming mainly from corn and pasture. The major contribution comes from the coniferous trees, especially from Norway spruce (picea abies) forests due to their abundance and high leaf biomass density. Although broad-leaved forests cover 27% of all the forests in Switzerland, their contribution to the biogenic emissions is only 2%. Monoterpene emission from the forests is predominantly higher than isoprene emission. Total annual biogenic VOC emission rate of 94 ktonnes y^-1 is significantly higher than those from other studies where the forests were classified as deciduous and coniferous. The difference is attributed to the high leaf biomass densities of Norway spruce and fir (abies alba) compared to the other conifers.

Keywords