OBSERVATION OF DIPROPENYLDISULFIDE AND OTHER ORGANIC SULFUR-COMPOUNDSIN THE ATMOSPHERE OF A BEECH FOREST WITH ALLIUM-URSINUM GROUND COVER

Dipropenyldisulfide, methylpropenyldisulfide, cis-propenylpropyldisulf ide, diallylsulfide, dimethyldisulfide and 3-methylthiopropene were de tected in the atmosphere of a beech forest with Allium ursinum (broad- leaved garlic) ground cover plants. Furthermore, it was shown that the Allium plants were the source of the organic sulfur compounds. The at mospheric concentrations of the organic sulfur observed on one day in May 1994 in a suburban forest in Vienna ranged from 0.3 to 7.8 ppb S w ith an average level of 2.9 ppb S. The atmospheric emission rate of or ganic sulfur species from A. ursinum determined with an enclosure box was the highest ever reported for terrestrial continental plants. The rotal organic sulfur flux on the average was at least 1 mu g g(-1)h(-1 ) (plant dry weight) or 60 mu g m(-2) h(-1) (per unit of ground area). Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd