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Stablilization of soil organic matter: land use, erosion and burial


EMSL Project ID
7200

Abstract

We are proposing to use 13C-NMR spectroscopy to analyze the relative abundance of organic functional groups in soil organic matter (SOM) to better understand the mechanisms of carbon (C) cycling and sequestration in soils. The work would be done by two graduate students whose dissertation projects would greatly benefit from 13C-NMR analyses, as it provides valuable information on the source and stability of organic matter in soils. One project is studying the effects of the hydrophobic component of plant litter inputs on soil C turnover in a land-use chronosequence of pasture to forest in Puerto Rico. The second project is examining the degree of microbial degradation of soil organic matter among soils at different locations in an erosional toposequence in northern California.

Project Details

Project type
Capability Research
Start Date
2004-05-15
End Date
2006-04-24
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Margaret Torn
Institution
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Team Members

Asmeret Berhe
Institution
University of California, Merced

Erika Marin-Spiotta
Institution
University of Wisconsin, Madison