A groundbreaking new study, led by researchers of the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) of the Cyprus Institute, reveals that the chemical signals plants release into the atmosphere are changing in unexpected ways, with potentially far-reaching consequences for air quality, climate, and ecosystem function. The research, a meta-analysis compiling over two decades of field data, challenges long-held assumptions about how plants respond to warming temperatures.

 

Scientists have long believed that plants release more sesquiterpenes - highly reactive biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) - as temperatures rise. However, this new analysis demonstrates that this relationship is weakening. Plants are now emitting these crucial compounds less predictably in response to warming than they did in the past.

 

The findings, published in Global Change Biology, indicate that a complex interplay of biotic and abiotic environmental stressors is reshaping plant responses to temperature. Rather than simply reacting to heat, plants appear to be adjusting their chemical output in response to a multitude of pressures, including drought, pollution, and pest activity. This altered chemical communication between vegetation and the atmosphere is changing the dynamics of air quality, chemical reactions, and climate-related feedback loops.

 

"Climate change is about much more than just warming," emphasizes lead author Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, an Assistant Professor at Τhe Cyprus Institute. "Interlinked environmental stresses are fundamentally changing how plants respond to temperature, and we still know relatively little about the intricate mechanisms driving these shifts. Our findings suggest a far more dynamic and complex biosphere-atmosphere interaction than we currently account for."

 

The researchers describe this shifting temperature response as a "volatile stressometer" – a sensitive chemical indicator of ecosystem stress that reflects the changing priorities in plant physiology. The declining strength of this signal suggests that plant emissions are adapting in more complex and nuanced ways than previously appreciated.

 

The study also highlights significant gaps in our understanding. The vast majority of existing data comes from temperate and boreal forests, leaving tropical regions, agricultural fields, and urban environments largely unexplored. Further research is urgently needed to determine whether these trends hold true across other ecosystems.

 

As environmental pressures continue to intensify, these changes in plant emissions introduce new uncertainties into Earth system predictions. This underscores the critical need to better understand how the living world is responding to a rapidly changing atmosphere and to incorporate these complex interactions into climate models.

 

Original publication: Bourtsoukidis, E., Guenther, A., Wang, H., Economou, T., Lazoglou, G., Christodoulou, A., Christoudias, T., Nölscher, A., Yañez-Serrano, A.M., Penuelas, J. 2025. Environmental Change is Reshaping the Temperature Sensitivity of Sesquiterpene Emissions and Their Atmospheric Impacts. Global Change Biology, doi: 10.1111/gcb.70258.

Contact: For more information, please contact Assistant Professor at CARE-C of the Cyprus Institute, Dr Efstratios Bourtsoukidis: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.