Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound Emissions

A GIS-based model was developed so to predict Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) emissions from the Italian forest ecosystems in order to estimate the fraction of the Net Primary Production lost as reduced carbon and to assess the impact of BVOCs in the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosols. The performance of the model was verified by comparing the predictions with BVOC fluxes measured in a CarboItaly site using the gradient method with tethered balloon profiles, but also with BVOC fluxes measured in previous years. The agreement between observations and predictions indicated a rather accurate estimation of the model and confirmed the importance in the Italian peninsula of monoterpene emissions, expecially of the fast reacting sabinene in areas dominated by Fagus sylvatica L. and Castanea sativa L.