Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Spruce bark beetles (Ips typographus) cause up to 700 times higher bark BVOC emission rates compared to healthy Norway spruce (Picea abies)

Jaakkola, Erica LU orcid ; Gärtner, Antje LU orcid ; Jönsson, Anna Maria LU ; Ljung, Karl LU orcid ; Olsson, Per-ola LU and Holst, Thomas LU (2023) In Biogeosciences 20(4). p.803-826
Abstract
Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from trees subjected to biotic stress are higher compared to healthy trees, and they may also have a different compound composition. This in turn affects atmospheric chemistry and can lead to either positive or negative feedback to the climate. Climate change favors the abundance of the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) which attacks the bark of Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees, causing induced BVOC emissions from the trees as a response to the insect stress. Here, results are reported from a study analyzing the difference in emission rates between healthy and bark-beetle-infested Norway spruce trees, changes in emission rates over time since the infestation started, and... (More)
Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from trees subjected to biotic stress are higher compared to healthy trees, and they may also have a different compound composition. This in turn affects atmospheric chemistry and can lead to either positive or negative feedback to the climate. Climate change favors the abundance of the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) which attacks the bark of Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees, causing induced BVOC emissions from the trees as a response to the insect stress. Here, results are reported from a study analyzing the difference in emission rates between healthy and bark-beetle-infested Norway spruce trees, changes in emission rates over time since the infestation started, and differences in emission rates from bark-beetle-drilled entry and exit holes.

Bark chamber measurements on both healthy and infested trees were performed during the summer of 2019 at Hyltemossa and Norunda research stations in Sweden. The measurements showed that induced BVOC emissions following the bark beetle infestation were dominated by entry hole emissions in the early growing season and exit hole emissions in the later season. The results showed a significant difference in emission rates between healthy and infested trees during both seasons. The seasonal average standardized BVOC emission rate of healthy trees was 32 ± 52 µg m−2 h−1 (mean ± standard deviation), while the average standardized BVOC emission rates of infested trees were 6700 ± 6900 and 2000 ± 1300 µg m−2 h−1 during the early and late season respectively. BVOC emission rates were highest at the start of the infestation and decreased exponentially with time, showing induced emission rates for up to 1 year after which the emission rates were similar to those from healthy bark. Constitutive needle emission rates from healthy trees were found to be 11 times higher than bark emissions from healthy trees. However, when Norway spruce trees were infested, the bark emission rates were instead 6 to 20 times higher than the needle emissions, causing substantial increases in the total tree BVOC emission rate. This could lead to high impacts on atmospheric processes, specifically the formation of secondary organic aerosols, which have a higher yield from some monoterpene compounds, which increased from infested trees. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
BVOCs, Bark beetle, Norway spruce (Picea abies), BVOCs, Norway spruce (Picea abies), Bark beetle, Forest biogeochemistry, Tree stress
in
Biogeosciences
volume
20
issue
4
pages
803 - 826
publisher
Copernicus GmbH
external identifiers
  • scopus:85149140342
ISSN
1726-4189
DOI
10.5194/bg-20-803-2023
project
Stress-induced BVOC emissions from forests in Sweden
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
44ca9168-5a27-4fc3-b82f-c9a1943562ad
date added to LUP
2023-02-24 12:35:14
date last changed
2024-02-01 18:52:14
@article{44ca9168-5a27-4fc3-b82f-c9a1943562ad,
  abstract     = {{Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from trees subjected to biotic stress are higher compared to healthy trees, and they may also have a different compound composition. This in turn affects atmospheric chemistry and can lead to either positive or negative feedback to the climate. Climate change favors the abundance of the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) which attacks the bark of Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees, causing induced BVOC emissions from the trees as a response to the insect stress. Here, results are reported from a study analyzing the difference in emission rates between healthy and bark-beetle-infested Norway spruce trees, changes in emission rates over time since the infestation started, and differences in emission rates from bark-beetle-drilled entry and exit holes.<br/><br/>Bark chamber measurements on both healthy and infested trees were performed during the summer of 2019 at Hyltemossa and Norunda research stations in Sweden. The measurements showed that induced BVOC emissions following the bark beetle infestation were dominated by entry hole emissions in the early growing season and exit hole emissions in the later season. The results showed a significant difference in emission rates between healthy and infested trees during both seasons. The seasonal average standardized BVOC emission rate of healthy trees was 32 ± 52 µg m−2 h−1 (mean ± standard deviation), while the average standardized BVOC emission rates of infested trees were 6700 ± 6900 and 2000 ± 1300 µg m−2 h−1 during the early and late season respectively. BVOC emission rates were highest at the start of the infestation and decreased exponentially with time, showing induced emission rates for up to 1 year after which the emission rates were similar to those from healthy bark. Constitutive needle emission rates from healthy trees were found to be 11 times higher than bark emissions from healthy trees. However, when Norway spruce trees were infested, the bark emission rates were instead 6 to 20 times higher than the needle emissions, causing substantial increases in the total tree BVOC emission rate. This could lead to high impacts on atmospheric processes, specifically the formation of secondary organic aerosols, which have a higher yield from some monoterpene compounds, which increased from infested trees.}},
  author       = {{Jaakkola, Erica and Gärtner, Antje and Jönsson, Anna Maria and Ljung, Karl and Olsson, Per-ola and Holst, Thomas}},
  issn         = {{1726-4189}},
  keywords     = {{BVOCs; Bark beetle; Norway spruce (Picea abies); BVOCs; Norway spruce (Picea abies); Bark beetle; Forest biogeochemistry; Tree stress}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{803--826}},
  publisher    = {{Copernicus GmbH}},
  series       = {{Biogeosciences}},
  title        = {{Spruce bark beetles (Ips typographus) cause up to 700 times higher bark BVOC emission rates compared to healthy Norway spruce (Picea abies)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-803-2023}},
  doi          = {{10.5194/bg-20-803-2023}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}