Long term measurements of volatile organic compounds exchanges above a maize field at Lonzee (Belgium)

VOC (volatile organic compounds) include a wide set of molecules which are mostly emitted by the plants. Atmospheric scientists are strongly interested in these compounds because of their important role in the atmospheric chemistry and their final impact on air pollution and climate change. Evaluation of current and future VOC emissions is thus necessary and requires a comprehensive understanding of VOC production and exchange dynamics under a wide panel of climatic conditions and ecosystems.
Forest and non pastured grasslands have been largely studied for the last decade. However, knowledge about VOC fluxes from croplands remains scarce. Our study focuses on the VOC exchanges between a maize field and the atmosphere. It is incorporated in a wider project that aims to study VOC fluxes from two croplands (maize and winter wheat) and a pastured grassland.
VOC fluxes have been measured on a maize field during the whole growing season using a micrometeorological method (eddy covariance). While first results show half-hourly bidirectionnal exchanges among all the preselected compounds, in average methanol stands for the greatest emitted VOC, followed by green leaf volatiles, and acetic acid is the greatest taken up VOC. Small isoprene and monoterpenes fluxes are also observed. A diurnal pattern is found for all those VOC, with greater emission/uptake during the day, suggesting a flux dependence on environmental parameters. These environmental controls will be further investigated