Carbon isotope analysis for source identification of atmospheric formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve in South China

Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are two most abundant carbonyls in ambient air. Biogenic emission has been proposed as a significant source other than anthropogenic emissions and atmospheric secondary formation. Here at a forest site in South China, the carbon isotopic compositions of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emitted from leaves of three tree species (Litsea rotundifolia, Canarium album and Castanea henryi) were measured in comparison with the bulk carbon isotopic compositions of tree leaves. δ13C data of the emitted aldehydes (from −31‰ to −46‰) were quite different for tree species, which were all more depleted in 13C than the tree-leaf bulk δ13C values (from −27‰ to −32‰). Formaldehyde in ambient air at the forest site had δ13C values different from those of leaf-emitted formaldehyde, indicating other sources for ambient formaldehyde apart from direct emission from leaves, most probably the photooxidation of biogenic hydrocarbon like isoprene and monoterpene. The δ13C differences of acetaldehyde between ambient data and those of tree leaves emission were less than 1‰, implying direct biogenic emission as the dominant source.