Abstract

In its natural atmospheric environment, vegetation is exposed to a plethora of trace gases that interact with plants in numerous different ways. The impact of such gases can be critical for natural ecosystems and crops as they potentially affect plant health, growth, and yield. On the contrary, under specific conditions, some of these gases can even be of nutritional use for the plants. Most trace gases can be exchanged between foliage and the atmosphere, that is, taken up or emitted usually by the plants’ foliage. The present entry focuses on the plant physiological and physicochemical background determining the exchange of trace gases between leaves and the atmosphere.