Application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to characterize organic chemical components of decomposing coarse woody debris from different climatic regions

Abstract

. Application of 13 C NMR spectroscopy to characterize organic chemical components of decomposing coarse woody debris from different climatic regions. Ann. For. Res. 58(1): 3-13.Abstract. Solid-state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was applied to coarse woody debris (CWD) in different stages of decomposition and collected from forest floor of a subtropical, a cool temperate, and a subalpine forest in Japan. The purpose was to test its applicability to characterize organic chemical composition of CWD of broad-leaved and coniferous trees from different climatic conditions. O-alkyl-C, mainly representing carbohydrates, was the predominant component of CWD at the three sites, accounting for 43.5-58.1% of the NMR spectra. Generally, the relative area under the signals for aromatic-C and phenolic-C, mainly representing lignin, increased, whereas the relative area for O-alkyl-C decreased, as the decay class advanced. The relative area under NMR chemical shift regions was significantly correlated with the chemical properties examined with proximate analyses. That is, O-alkyl-C and di-O-alkyl-C NMR signal areas were positively correlated with the volumetric density of CWD and the content of total carbohydrates. Methoxyl-C, aromatic-C, phenolic-C, carboxyl-C, and carbonyl-C were positively correlated with the contents of acid-unhydrolyzable residues (lignin, tannins, and cutin) and nitrogen. Lignin-C calculated from NMR signals increased, and polysaccharide-C decreased, with the decay class of CWD at the three study sites. A review of previous studies on 13 C NMR spectroscopy for decomposing CWD suggested further needs of its application to broad-leaved trees from tropical and subtropical regions.

Carbon and nitrogen stocks in dead wood of tropical lowland forests as dependent on wood decay stages and land-use intensity

“…During decaying processes, soluble C in active organic C of dead wood is consumed for microorganism demand (Anderson & Dousch 1989), while passive C fraction is slowly decomposing because of its accumulation in persistent organic matter of lignin (Bonanomi et al 2013). Similar to finding of Hishinuma et al (2015), increased lignin-C content and decreased polysaccharide-C were found in advanced decay of wood in this study. The abundance of dead wood mass and stocks of lignin, C, and N were dominated by early decayed wood which might reflect a low decay process intensity of the woody debris in our plots.…”

“…2C and 2D). Substrate quality and microbial activity probably enhanced N concentration in advanced decaying dead wood through (1) N translocation from immobilized soil nutrient mediated by microorganisms i.e., fungi (Philpott et al 2014), (2) increased activity of asymbiotic N-fixing bacteria (Brunner & Kimmins 2003) and (3) increased N structural binding with lignin, aromatic and phenolic compounds which were resistant to be degraded (Hishinuma et al 2015). In our study, neither lignin nor C concentrations differed maredly among wood decay stages ( Fig.…”

Wind damage over 21 years across different levels of tree removal in natural-origin mixed forests of northwestern British Columbia

“…The slight increase in carbon concentration at lower wood densities is consistent with the findings for other temperate and boreal conifer species. Preston et al ( 1998Preston et al ( , 2006 and Hishinuma et al (2015) reported increasing carbon concentration with higher decay classes for (Sandstrom et al 2007) and Estonia (Koster et al 2015) showed the same trend. Sakai et al (2012) found that dead wood of Japanese cedar (Cryptomerajaponica) D. Don.…”

Modelling the transformation of organic materials in soil with nuclear magnetic resonance spectra

“…From the end of the 19th century (Wollny, 1902) to modern times (e.g. Hishinuma et al, 2015), there has been considerable research aiming to determine the relations between the characteristics of the OM and decomposition processes, nutrient release and soil improvement. Many different approaches have been used, which range from tracer experiments and modelling (Pansu et al, 2014) to laboratory tests and analytical measurements such as biochemical fractionation and spectrometry (Kögel-Knabner, 1997;Pansu & Gautheyrou, 2006).…”