科研人员在一则研究中报告说，落叶树对去除大气中的某些有机化合物有着惊人的功效，这一发现对气候模型有着重要的意义。
植物既是这些挥发性有机化合物（或称VOCs）的一种接收器也是它们的一种来源，当植物物质腐烂时，VOCs会进入到大气之中。 在大气中，VOCs可被氧化，从而导致了气溶胶的形成。气溶胶可调节大气的氧化能力，并对气候产生重要的反馈作用。
各种模型通常将VOCs的摄取和降解像其它更常被研究的诸如臭氧这样的生物源性气体那样来对待，即它们大多数是不起反应的。 Thomas Karl及其共同作者将模型与实验室的实验相结合，他们现在提出，VOCs实际上可与叶子的酶起反应，因此它们可从大气中被清除。 这些结果提示，植物实际上比人们过去认为的可在污染区域中摄取更多的VOCs，尤其是在热带地区。 （生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐英文摘要：
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1192534
Efficient Atmospheric Cleansing of Oxidized Organic Trace Gases by Vegetation
T. Karl,1,* P. Harley,1 L. Emmons,1 B. Thornton,2 A. Guenther,1 C. Basu,2 A. Turnipseed,1 K. Jardine3
The biosphere is the major source and sink of nonmethane volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the atmosphere. Gas phase chemical reactions initiate the removal of these compounds from the atmosphere, which ultimately proceeds via deposition at the surface or direct oxidation to CO or CO2. We performed ecosystem-scale flux measurements that show the removal of oxygenated VOC via dry deposition is substantially larger than currently assumed for deciduous ecosystems. Laboratory experiments indicate efficient enzymatic conversion and potential upregulation of various stress-related genes leading to enhanced uptake rates as a response to ozone and methyl vinyl ketone exposure or mechanical wounding. A revised scheme for the uptake of oxygenated VOCs, incorporated into a global chemistry–transport model, predicts appreciable regional changes in annual dry deposition fluxes.
1 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA.
2 School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA
3 Biosphere 2, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
