Induced BVOCs: how to bug our models?

Climate-herbivory interactions have been largely debated vis-à-vis ecosystem carbon sequestration. However, invertebrate herbivores also modify emissions of plant biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). Over the shorter term, they do this by the induction of de novo synthesis of a plethora of compounds; but invertebrates also affect the relative proportions of constitutively BVOCs-emitting plants. Thus, invertebrate-BVOCs interactions have potentially important implications for air quality and climate. Insect outbreaks are expected to increase with warmer climate, but quantitative understanding of BVOCs-invertebrate ecology, climate connections and atmospheric feedback remain as yet elusive. Examination of these interactions requires a description of outbreaks in ecosystem models, combined with quantitative observations on leaf and ecosystem level. We review here recent advances and propose a strategy for inclusion of invertebrate-BVOCs relationships in terrestrial ecosystem models. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.