Strong emission of methyl chloride from tropical plants
| Autor: | Yoko Yokouchi, Yoko Inuzuka, Masumi Ikeda, Tomohisa Yukawa |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2002 |
| Předmět: |
Dipterocarpaceae
Meteorology Sulfur Oxides Biomass chemistry.chemical_element Chloride Trees Atmosphere Magnoliopsida Deforestation Tropical climate Chlorine medicine Asia Southeastern Tropical Climate Multidisciplinary biology Tropics Plants biology.organism_classification chemistry Environmental chemistry Ferns Methyl Chloride Environmental science medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Nature. 416(6877) |
| ISSN: | 0028-0836 |
| Popis: | Methyl chloride is the largest natural source of ozone-depleting chlorine compounds, and accounts for about 15 per cent of the present atmospheric chlorine content. This contribution was likely to have been relatively greater in pre-industrial times, when additional anthropogenic sources-such as chlorofluorocarbons-were absent. Although it has been shown that there are large emissions of methyl chloride from coastal lands in the tropics, there remains a substantial shortfall in the overall methyl chloride budget. Here we present observations of large emissions of methyl chloride from some common tropical plants (certain types of ferns and Dipterocarpaceae), ranging from 0.1 to 3.7 microg per gram of dry leaf per hour. On the basis of these preliminary measurements, the methyl chloride flux from Dipterocarpaceae in southeast Asia alone is estimated at 0.91 Tg yr-1, which could explain a large portion of missing methyl chloride sources. With continuing tropical deforestation, natural sources of chlorine compounds may accordingly decrease in the future. Conversely, the abundance of massive ferns in the Carboniferous period may have created an atmosphere rich in methyl chloride. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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