## 1 Introduction  
The Azores archipelago is an autonomous region of Portugal located in the North Atlantic Ocean, 1500 km from Lisbon, Portugal and the European mainland. Forest occupies about one third of the Azorean territory. _Cryptomeria japonica_ (Thunb. ex L.f.) D. Don (Cupressaceae), commonly called \"criptomeria\" in Portuguese, is a native species from Japan that was introduced in the Azores Islands in the mid-19 th century. Currently, it is considered the most important forestry tree in the Azores archipelago, not only because of its economic value, occupying 60% of the total wood producing forest area [1], but also because its stands are a determinant element of the Azorean landscape, which attracts a substantial influx of tourists. _Cryptomeria japonica_ is a monoecious and very large evergreen conifer that may reach up to 70 m in height with a trunk diameter of up to 4 m. It is a fast-growing tree when planted in moist, well-drained, and deep forest soils [2]. In terms of appearance, _C. japonica_ is a conical to pyramidal tree with a trunk clothed in a reddish-brown bark that is fibrous and peels off into vertical strips. The leaves are spirally arranged, 0.5-1 cm long, and needle-like in structure (Figure 1). _C. japonica_ reproductive organs show two types of strobili (cones): female cones (FCs) and male cones (MCs) (Figure 1B,C). The FCs are brown (when mature), globular, up to 1-2 cm (0.39-0.79 in) in diameter, and composed of about 20-40 megasporophylls [3]. The MCs are numerous, ovoid or oblong, yellow or bright brown (when mature), arranged spirally, 2-3 mm long, and elongate up to 10 mm when ripe to shed pollen [4]. The pollen of _C. japonica_ causes pollinosis, or hay fever, which is a serious health problem in Japan. Male-sterile _C. japonica_ populations that release no pollen have recently gained interest as a potential measure to fight this problem [5]. Among woody plant species, conifers have evolved the capacity to produce a complex terpenoid mixture (oleoresin) accumulated in secretory structures (ranging from single cells or blisters to interconnected resin ducts) that acts as a strong defence system, thus contributing to their evolutionary diversification and colonization success. Resin ducts may be constitutive (CRD), that is, they are always present, or traumatic (TRD), in which case they are induced as response to biotic or mechanical damage [6]. As compiled by [PERSON] [6], some studies suggest that TRD production might be a key mechanism involved in conifer resistance to both insects and pathogens. _Cryptomeria_ and other conifer genera, such as _Cupressus_ and _Araucaria_, are referred to as producing axial TRDs in their phloem tissue [6]. _Cryptomeria japonica_ aerial parts, as well as bark, are by-products of tree cutting, and the use of this large forest-based biomass as raw material for commercial applications is now considered to be an important research item. Indeed, _C. japonica_ biomass residues (CJBR) can be used for producing eco-friendly and high value-added products [7; 8; 9], such as crude essential oils (EOs) and their fractions and/or individual components, with social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, as is well established, the yield and chemical profile of EOs and, consequently, their specific commercial application, quality, and price, depend on many factors besides the plant species, such as geographical location of the plants; environmental parameters; plant tissue, age, and developmental stage; post-harvest drying and storage; and extraction method [10; 11]. EO extraction is widely carried out using traditional distillation methods, namely hydrodistillation (HD), water-steam distillation (WSD), and steam distillation (SD, commonly used for commercial scale production). Nevertheless, various innovative green techniques for volatiles isolation (such as non-thermal volatiles extractions) have been developed [12]. The chemical characterization and bioactivity assessment of CJBR EOs have focused mostly on leaves [7; 9].