BVOC ecosystem flux measurements at a high latitude wetland site

In this study, we present summertime concentrations and fluxes of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) measured at a sub-arctic wetland in northern Sweden using a disjunct eddy-covariance (DEC) technique based on a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS). The vegetation at the site was dominated by Sphagnum, Carex and Eriophorum spp. The performance of the DEC system was assessed by comparing H ₃O ⁺ - ion cluster formed with water molecules (HaO ⁺(H ₂O) at m37) with water vapour concentration measurements made using an adjacent humidity sensor, and from a comparison of sensible heat fluxes for high frequency and DEC data obtained from the sonic anemometer. These analyses showed no significant PTR-MS sensor drift over a period of several weeks and only a small flux-loss due to high-frequency spectrum omissions. This loss was within the range expected from other studies and the theoretical considerations. Standardised (20 °C and 1000 μmolm ^-2s ^-1 PAR) summer isoprene emission rates of 323 μgCm ^-2 (ground area) h ^-1 were comparable with findings from more southern boreal forests, and fen-like ecosystems. On a diel scale, measured fluxes indicated a stronger temperature dependence when compared with emissions from temperate or (subtropical ecosystems. For the first time, to our knowledge, we report ecosystem methanol fluxes from a sub-arctic ecosystem. Maximum daytime emission fluxes were around 270 μgm ^-2h ^-1 (ca. 100 μgCm ^-2h ^-1) and measurements indicated some nocturnal deposition. The measurements reported here covered a period of 50 days (1 August to 19 September 2006), approximately one half of the growing season at the site, and allowed to investigate the effect of vegetation senescence on daily BVOC fluxes and on their temperature and light responses. Longterm measurements of BVOC are still lacking for nearly all ecosystems and only a very few studies about seasonal or even interannual variation of BVOC emissions have been published so far, particularly for northern ecosystems. The results presented here will be useful for testing process understanding obtained in laboratory studies and for model evaluation, improving our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in a region which is likely to be sensitive to climate change and currently undergoes rapid changes due to global warming.