Application of low temperature plasmas in biomedicine, environmental protection and nanotechnologies - III 41011

2011 - 2014

SUBPROJECT: AN APPLICATION OF THE PTR-MS TECHNIQUE FOR THE BVOC MEASUREMENTS


Terrestrial plants have a critical role in the carbon cycling on the global level, by its removal from the atmosphere and storage in organic compounds in the presence of the sunlight, in the processes of photosynthesis, and oxygen release. Besides oxygen, plants emit numerous complex organic compounds called biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC). Investigation of the BVOC emissions may have great importance due to their possible influences on the atmospheric chemistry, interactions between plants and the atmosphere, аnd the processes in plant physiology.


Planned investigations with the PTR-MS device are going to be directed towards obtaining controlled experimental conditions (light intensity, temperature, air humidity) for measurements of the BVOC from plants, aiming to determine their characterization end emission levels in certain conditions. Measurements of the emissions of these compounds are going to be performed on several plant species which are often present in urban vegetation. Thus, the activities within this experiment are aiming to gain control of as many as possible environmental conditions, first of all physical (light intensity, temperature, air humidity).


The BVOC measurements with the PTR-MS should be combined with other devices to monitor physiological status of the plants (photosynthesis intensity, transpiration).