Ecosystem-Atmosphere Interactions – Rinnan Lab

Arctic ecosystem ecology and ecosystem-atmosphere interactions

• Environmental and plant trait-based controls on BVOC emissions from tundra shrubs
• BVOC emissions from soils and permafrost, coupling to soil respiration and methane fluxes, and the role of microbial community composition
• BVOC uptake by soil microorganisms, coupling to soil respiration and methane oxidation, and the role of microbial community composition
• Bidirectional exchange (emissions and uptake) of BVOCs in tundra ecosystems under climate change and the effects of changing plant community composition
• Insect herbivory effects on birch and willow volatile defenses, and their interactions with climate change
• Ecosystem-scale BVOC fluxes measured by eddy covariance techniques
• Effects of climate change and biotic stress on BVOC emissions at the regional scale, assessed by modeling approaches

Funding from the European Research Council consolidator grant Tundra biogenic volatile emissions in the 21st century (TUVOLU) (2018-2023), H2020 Marie Curie Actions, The Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences (Sapere aude -program), and the Center of Excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation: Center for Permafrost (CENPERM).

Eucalypt volatiles

• Between-species differences in constitutive BVOC emissions of eucalypts
• Effects of increasing CO₂ concentration and climate warming on eucalypt volatiles
• Effects of herbivory on Eucalyptus volatile blends

Collaboration with Elizabeth Heather Jakobsen Neilson, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

PTR-TOF-1000 ultra (Ionicon)

proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass-spectrometer

We conduct experiments with real-time analysis of VOCs in the laboratory and in the field. We have two PTR-TOF-1000 ultra-instruments; one with Selective Reagent Ionization technology. Our instruments have been operated e.g. in Abisko, Northern Sweden and at Finse Alpine Research Station in Norway measuring eddy covariance fluxes.

GC-MS (Agilent), TD100-xr (Markes) 

gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer coupled with a thermal desorber

We also analyse biogenic volatiles by trapping the volatiles (~C5-C25) in adsorbent cartridges, which are later analyzed by GC-MS after thermal desorption.

Custom-built climate chambers

We have six climate chambers with Valoya LED lighting and a built-in system for gas flux monitoring that allows for temperature manipulation from below freezing to 30°C.

NIR-spectrometer

Antaris II near infrared reflectance spectrometer, Thermo Scientific

An instrument used mainly for fingerprinting chemical composition of solid samples.