Study looks into the fragrances of forests stressed by drought
Researchers at the University of Arizona forced a severe drought on a controlled rainforest environment to measure certain gasses released by plants that indicate drought stress. And those gasses have scents. The results of the experiment, described in a study published this month in Nature, could help scientists “sniff out” when forests are in distress. … Plants emit gasses called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, many of which have a unique scent — some smell of pine, others signal an insect infestation. The research team forced a drought on UA’s Biosphere 2 – an encapsulated rainforest – for three months and, using lots of tubing and sensors, measured those VOC emissions.