Observation of hydrogen peroxide concentrations in a Japanese red pine forest

In order to study the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the factors controlling its concentrations, we monitored concentrations of H2O2 and other gases such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, and NO x as well as meteorological factors such as air temperature, relative humidity, and wind direction/speed during eight measurement periods from 2000 to 2002 in a Japanese red pine forest in Japan. The H2O2 concentrations ranged from below 0.01 to 1.64 ppb, and analysis of the diurnal variation in H2O2 concentration showed high concentrations around noon, and low concentrations in the morning and late afternoon. The H2O2 concentrations were high in early summer, when O3 concentration, temperature, and solar radiation were high, and were low in fall, when O3 concentration, temperature, and solar radiation were low. We propose that O3 concentration affects the production of H2O2 in the monitored region during the period under study, but that high H2O2 concentrations were sometimes caused by the transport of polluted air from urban regions. H2O2 concentrations decreased remarkably when SO2 concentrations increased by transported volcanic emission on Miyake Island. In the absence of the effects of SO2, H2O2 concentrations increased with increasing O3 concentration and temperature.