Ana María Álvarez

The diversity of methoxyphenols released by pyrolysis-gas chromatography as predictor of soil carbon storage

The variable extent to which environmental factors are involved in soil carbon storage is currently a subject of controversy. In fact, justifying why some soils accumulate more organic matter than others is not trivial. Some abiotic factors such as organo-mineral associations have classically been invoked as the main drivers for soil C stabilization. However, in this research indirect evidences based on correlations between soil C storage and compositional descriptors of the soil organic matter are presented. It is assumed that the intrinsic structure of soil organic matter should have a bearing in the soil carbon storage. This is examined here by focusing on the methoxyphenols released by direct pyrolysis from a wide variety of topsoil samples from continental Mediterranean ecosystems from Spain with different properties and carbon content. Methoxyphenols are typical signature compounds presumptively informing on the occurrence and degree of alteration of lignin in soils. The methoxyphenol assemblages (12 major guaiacyl- and syringyl-type compounds) were analyzed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index was chosen to describe the complexity of this phenolic signature. A series of exploratory statistical analyses (simple regression, partial least squares regression, multidimensional scaling) were applied to analyze the relationships existing between chemical and spectroscopic characteristics and the carbon content in the soils. These treatments coincided in pointing out that significant correlations exist between the progressive molecular diversity of the methoxyphenol assemblages and the concentration of organic carbon stored in the corresponding soils. This potential of the diversity in the phenolic signature as a surrogate index of the carbon storage in soils is tentatively interpreted as the accumulation of plant macromolecules altered into microbially reworked structures not readily recognized by soil enzymes. From a quantitative viewpoint, the partial least squares regression models exclusively based on total abundances of the 12 major methoxyphenols were especially successful in forecasting soil carbon storage.

Soil carbon storage predicted from the diversity of pyrolytic alkanes

Biogeochemical factors responsible of the highly variable content of soil organic matter (SOM) in the different types of soils are poorly known. In particular, the role of organo-mineral interactions has frequently been considered, but less attention has been paid to the molecular composition of the SOM. The aim of this work was to contribute to a better qualitative and quantitative assessment of the soil organic C (SOC) accumulation, using chemometric approaches that do not require the absolute knowledge of the structure and functioning of the whole system under study. For this reason, we monitored the n-alkanes released by analytical pyrolysis from 35 widely different Mediterranean soils. The H′ Shannon diversity index was calculated to evaluate the origin and transformations of the alkane homologous series (C9–C31). A series of multivariate data treatments succeeded in showing significant relationship between the diversity of alkanes and the SOC concentration, and additional indicators of SOM quality were also used. All statistical analyses pointed out the significant correlation (P < 0.01) between the H′ diversity of the pyrolytic alkanes and the amount of SOC. In particular, a significant relationship between SOC levels and the percentage of long-chain alkanes was found, whereas the percentage of short-chain alkanes was correlated with specific descriptors of SOM quality. Finally, the partial least squares (PLS) predicted the SOC content from the alkane patterns.

Assessment of Soil Organic Matter Molecular Characteristics Related to Hydrophysical Properties in Semiarid Soils (Central Spain)

The objective of this study is to analyze soil hydrophysical properties in addition to the molecular composition of the organic matter in semiarid Mediterranean cereal agroecosystems. Aggregate water-stability, total porosity, water holding capacity, and b and c parameters of the Kostiakovs equation for soil infiltration were determined using a double-ring infiltrometer. The soil humic acid (HA) was isolated and characterized mainly by analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Multivariate data treatments suggested favourable hydrophysical parameters associated to HAs with a substantial aliphatic domain. Soils with HAs consisting of condensed aromatic structures, often considered to correspond to advanced stages of humification and high resilience, do not coincide with those displaying favourable hydrophysical properties. The results discussed in this article provide support for moderate aliphatic hydrophobicity to be considered as a soil organic matter quality parameter positively influencing hydrophysical properties of semiarid soils.