Sensitive interactions between biogenic emissions from global forests and the atmosphere

Recently published research on the interactions between biosphere and atmosphere, led by CARE-C’s Assistant Professor, Dr Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, was selected as a ‘featured’ article on Nature Portfolio’s Communication and Environment homepage.

The meta-analysis presented at the paper, reveals a significant insight: the scent we associate with forests, coming mainly from vegetation’s monoterpene emissions, is significantly more sensitive to temperature changes than we previously thought. This has, unexpectedly, major implications for atmospheric chemistry. These results raise critical questions regarding the links between ecological responses and atmospheric feedbacks in a warming world, emphasizing the need for more fundamental research.

Reference: Bourtsoukidis, E., Pozzer, A., Williams, J. Makowski D., Penuelas J, Matthaios V.N., Lazoglou G., Yanez-Serrano A., Lelieveld J, Ciais P., Vrekoussis M., Daskalakis, N & Sciare J. High temperature sensitivity of monoterpene emissions from global vegetation. Commun Earth Environ 5, 23 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01175-9