Industry News Tracker | Communications Earth & Environment | 2026
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Executive Brief

This paper reports that the 2023–24 El Niño coincided with a major shift in Amazon rainforest volatile emissions, with sesquiterpenes increasing by 122% across the El Niño period and a later appearance of lower-volatility sesquiterpene alcohols such as beta-eudesmol, alpha-eudesmol and gamma-eudesmol during the wet season after peak drought. The authors interpret these changes as a stress defence response linked to oxidative stress, suggesting that severe drought and heat pushed vegetation towards producing heavier, more reactive and less volatile compounds. The findings point to a dynamic link between climate extremes, plant metabolism and atmospheric chemistry, with potential implications for aerosol formation, ecological interactions and climate feedbacks.

Keywords: El Niño, Amazon rainforest, sesquiterpenes, volatile organic compounds, oxidative stress defence, atmospheric chemistry.

Technical Intelligence

1. Core Technology / Process

• The study measured speciated isoprene, monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids in the Amazon rainforest canopy across the 2023–24 El Niño cycle.
• Sampling was conducted at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) using sorbent tubes, thermal desorption and GC-ToF-MS / PTR-ToF-MS analysis.
• The paper links biotic VOC emissions to abiotic stress, especially drought and heat stress associated with El Niño.

2. Key Ingredients / Specifications

• The main VOC groups analysed were isoprene, monoterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene alcohols.
• Among the compounds highlighted, beta-selinene, alpha-selinene, selina-3,7(11)-diene, beta-eudesmol, alpha-eudesmol, gamma-eudesmol, caryolanol and longiborneol were especially important during the El Niño-influenced period.
• The authors describe these compounds as heavier, more reactive, more oxidised, more hydrophilic and less volatile than the more common isoprenoid emissions.

3. Performance Data

• Sesquiterpenes increased by 122% across the El Niño duration.
• Monoterpenoid abundances showed little influence from El Niño, while oxygenated monoterpenes declined during the most intense drought period.
• The wet season after peak drought saw the first detection of several sesquiterpene alcohols, including beta-eudesmol, alpha-eudesmol and gamma-eudesmol.
• The study also found that the eudesmane-skeleton sesquiterpenoids showed a strong morning peak and then declined in the afternoon, suggesting rapid emission changes and atmospheric oxidation effects.

4. Market / Sustainability

• The paper suggests that severe climate events may alter rainforest air composition towards more reactive VOCs, which could affect atmospheric oxidation and secondary organic aerosol formation.
• The authors frame these VOC shifts as part of a stress-adaptation mechanism that may help plants mitigate reactive oxygen species damage.
• The results are presented as relevant to climate feedbacks, ecological interactions and atmospheric chemistry in tropical forests.

Entity & Keyword Index

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If you found this summary useful, please read and cite the original paper at https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03597-7.