Induced BVOCs: how to bug our models?

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Atmospheric Chemistry
• Climate Science

Background:

• Climate-herbivory interactions are key to ecosystem carbon sequestration.
• Invertebrate herbivores influence plant biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emissions through induced and constitutive pathways.
• These interactions have significant implications for air quality and climate regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in understanding invertebrate-BVOCs relationships.
• To propose a strategy for incorporating these interactions into terrestrial ecosystem models.
• To highlight the need for quantitative understanding of BVOCs-invertebrate ecology and climate connections.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent advances in invertebrate-BVOCs research.
• Analysis of short-term (de novo synthesis) and long-term (constitutive emission) effects of herbivory on BVOCs.
• Discussion of the necessity for integrating ecosystem models with observational data.

Main Results:

• Invertebrate herbivores alter BVOCs emissions by inducing new compounds and changing constitutive emission profiles.
• Insect outbreaks, predicted to rise with climate warming, will likely exacerbate these BVOCs alterations.
• Current understanding of the quantitative BVOCs-invertebrate ecology and climate feedback is limited.

Conclusions:

• Invertebrate herbivory is a critical, yet understudied, factor influencing BVOCs emissions and atmospheric feedbacks.
• Integrating invertebrate-BVOCs dynamics into terrestrial ecosystem models is essential for predicting future air quality and climate.
• Further research combining ecosystem modeling with empirical observations is required.