Abstract

The 2020 conference marks our twenty-year anniversary and the tenth GRC on Biogenic Hydrocarbons and the Atmosphere. This interdisciplinary conference brings together researchers from plant physiology, ecology, atmospheric chemistry and climatology to study the function and impacts of biogenic volatile organic compounds emissions from plants. Biogenic VOC production plays important role in plant defense against oxidative stress and BVOCs are also critical players in plant-plant communication. After emission into the atmosphere, these highly reduced organic compounds undergo photochemical transformations that can increase the production of smog, particularly in urban environments. Under less polluted conditions, biogenic VOCs form secondary organic aerosols, which can modify cloud properties and hence interact with radiative balance and the climate. Many critical feedbacks between ecosystems and atmosphere are involving reactive compounds, which we are only now starting to elucidate when analytical methods for their detection are becoming available. We are pleased to host the 20th anniversary conference at the same place where the first one was held in 1990, and thus linking the present to the past and future in an inspiring way. Predicting future changes and impacts of biogenic VOC emissions is an important contribution scientists need to provide. The Conference has a history of inclusivity and collegial interaction among the attendees. The conference presenters will feature both new inspiring speakers and perspectives along with seminal names in the field, as we gather to guide the next 20 years of research in this exciting field.