In-forest canopy chemical sinks and regional air quality

In forested landscapes, it is necessary to estimate emissions of biogenic hydrocarbons emitted by vegetation. Such emissions are required to determine the contribution of biogenic hydrocarbons to the formation of oxidants such as ozone and secondary organic aerosols. Depending on forest architecture (e.g., leaf area index) and lifetime of chemical species, substantial biogenic hydrocarbons can react within plant canopies before reaching the surrounding atmosphere. Emission inventories are required for regional air quality models designed to estimate oxidant and aerosol production from biogenic hydrocarbons. Also, emission inventories for air quality models need to account for reductions of biogenic hydrocarbons and increases in their products due to reactions within plant canopies. Therefore, one objective of this presentation is to report and discuss results on the degree of chemical processing for a select group of biogenic hydrocarbon species as a function of forest canopy attributes and prevailing atmospheric turbulence. Chemical processing within plant canopies can appropriately be estimated using one-dimensional models that include detailed photochemical mechanisms, and radiative transfer and atmospheric turbulence theory within plant canopies. Due to computational demands, such detailed canopy models cannot be realistically included in regional models. Thus, a second goal of this research is to develop a simplified algorithm to account for the in-plant canopy chemical reactions leading to reductions in the estimated biogenic hydrocarbon emissions. The purpose of this new algorithm is to include an explicit representation of the biogenic hydrocarbon chemical sinks in regional air quality models. Model outputs will contrast results obtained for cases with and without in-plant canopy chemical processing in an effort to quantify the effect of chemical sinks on regional oxidant formation. Also, the presentation will highlight the effects of in-plant canopy hydrocarbon reactions on regional secondary organic aerosol formation from isoprene and terpenes. Preliminary results indicate that the chemistry of terpenes has the most effect on secondary ozone formation. Therefore, estimates of secondary organic aerosol formation are sensitive to the amounts of terpenes removed within canopies before they enter the regional domain considered in air quality models.