Insect outbreak progression over three years shapes biogenic volatile emissions in a mountain birch forest

Abstract

Geometrid moth outbreaks are important natural disturbances in mountain birch ( Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii ) forests of northern Fennoscandia and are expected to intensify with climate change. Impacts of these outbreaks and moth herbivory on biogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of birch remain unquantified despite the importance of VOCs in plant-herbivore interactions and atmospheric chemistry. Here, we quantify in situ VOC emission responses of mountain birch ( n = 256) to naturally increasing geometrid herbivory across three consecutive growing seasons. We show that VOC emissions increased with rising herbivore pressure across the years, culminating in the outbreak, during which early-season VOC emissions were higher than at peak herbivory. At peak herbivory, birch emitted more complex VOC blends, indicating seasonal shifts in composition. Following the outbreak, a second leaf flush sustained emissions of some VOCs. Our findings demonstrate that VOC emission rates and compositions are dynamically linked to leaf phenology and herbivory intensity across multiple years.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{rieksta2026insect,
  title = {{Insect outbreak progression over three years shapes biogenic volatile emissions in a mountain birch forest}},
  author = {Jolanta Rieksta and Amy Samantha Smart and Cleo L. Davie-Martin and Annika Engroff and Rosa María Picón García and Reza Wali and Yue Gao and Yi Jiao and Wanying Zhang and Jing Tang and Simon Nyboe Laursen and Shunan Feng and Andreas Westergaard-Nielsen and Thomas Holst and Roger Seco and Tao Li and Riikka Rinnan},
  journal = {Communications Earth \& Environment},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1038/s43247-026-03920-2},
  url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03920-2},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Insect outbreak progression over three years shapes biogenic volatile emissions in a mountain birch forest
AU  - Jolanta Rieksta
AU  - Amy Samantha Smart
AU  - Cleo L. Davie-Martin
AU  - Annika Engroff
AU  - Rosa María Picón García
AU  - Reza Wali
AU  - Yue Gao
AU  - Yi Jiao
AU  - Wanying Zhang
AU  - Jing Tang
AU  - Simon Nyboe Laursen
AU  - Shunan Feng
AU  - Andreas Westergaard-Nielsen
AU  - Thomas Holst
AU  - Roger Seco
AU  - Tao Li
AU  - Riikka Rinnan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/05
JO  - Communications Earth & Environment
DO  - 10.1038/s43247-026-03920-2
UR  - https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03920-2
AB  - Geometrid moth outbreaks are important natural disturbances in mountain birch ( Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii ) forests of northern Fennoscandia and are expected to intensify with climate change. Impacts of these outbreaks and moth herbivory on biogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of birch remain unquantified despite the importance of VOCs in plant-herbivore interactions and atmospheric chemistry. Here, we quantify in situ VOC emission responses of mountain birch ( n = 256) to naturally increasing geometrid herbivory across three consecutive growing seasons. We show that VOC emissions increased with rising herbivore pressure across the years, culminating in the outbreak, during which early-season VOC emissions were higher than at peak herbivory. At peak herbivory, birch emitted more complex VOC blends, indicating seasonal shifts in composition. Following the outbreak, a second leaf flush sustained emissions of some VOCs. Our findings demonstrate that VOC emission rates and compositions are dynamically linked to leaf phenology and herbivory intensity across multiple years.
SN  - 2662-4435
ER  -

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