Contributions of biogenic volatile organic compounds to net ecosystem carbon flux in a ponderosa pine plantation

When assessing net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB), respiration is generally assumed to be the only significant loss of carbon to the atmosphere. However, carbon is also emitted from ecosystems in the form of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). Here we consider the magnitude of systematic difference caused by omitting this additional carbon loss from the net ecosystem carbon balance, as compared to the NEE term, of the ponderosa pine plantation at Blodgett Forest. We find that 9.4 (range 6.2–12.5) g C m−2 yr−1 were emitted from this ecosystem as BVOCs. This is 4.0 (2.0–7.9) % of annual NEE, and neglecting this additional loss of carbon causes an overestimation of carbon storage for this rapidly growing commercial forest plantation. For ecosystems that are not storing carbon as rapidly, where photosynthesis and respiration are more closely balanced, ignoring BVOC emission may cause a larger error in the estimation of NECB.