Plants emit gases, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that enter the atmosphere, where they can interact with other natural and human-made molecules to form secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). These tiny, suspended particles influence atmospheric processes, such as cloud formation and sunlight scattering. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry have shown that aphid-infested Scots pine trees produce a different mixture of VOCs than healthy plants, which then leads to different SOAs. Plant species emit a wide variety of VOCs, including terpenoids, benzenoids and plant stress compounds, and the mixture can change with environmental conditions, such as temperature, drought or insect outbreaks. Very few studies have examined SOA production from the full range of VOCs made by plants under different conditions, in particular, insect outbreaks that could become more prevalent in a changing climate.

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