Monitoring the emission of volatile organic compounds from the leaves of Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana using solid-phase micro-extraction

In this study, solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fibers coated with polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, were used to monitor the emission patterns of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from leaves of Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana Florin. in situ. In both sunny and rainy weather, the circadian profile for BVOCs from C. macrolepis var. formosana leaves has three maximum emission cycles each day. This kind of emission pattern might result from the plant’s circadian clock, which determines the rhythm of terpenoid emission. Furthermore, emission results from the leaves demonstrated that the circadian profile of α-pinene observed was opposite to the profiles of limonene and myrcene, a difference that may be attributable to two different subpathways for terpenoid biosynthesis.