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Nature 446, 991 (26 April 2007) | doi:10.1038/446991a; Published online 25 April 2007

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Atmospheric chemistry: A forest air of chirality

Euripides G. Stephanou1

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A sophisticated survey of certain volatile organic compounds in the air over forest ecosystems shows how such work can reveal varied emission patterns of different chiral, or mirror-image, forms of these compounds.

An unseen component of forest ecology is the emission, by both plants and animals, of a cocktail of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere. Emissions from plants exceed those from animals by several orders of magnitude, and have various purposes, such as repelling herbivorous animals or attracting specific insects for pollination.

  1. Euripides G. Stephanou is in the Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory, School of Sciences and Engineering, University of Crete, 71003 Voutes-Heraklion, Greece.
    Email: stephanou@chemistry.uoc.gr

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