Sources and composition of hydrolysable aliphatic lipids and phenols in soils from western Canada

Otto, Angelika; Simpson, Myrna J.

doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2005.12.011

Cited by 156 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Bull et al (2000) observed different degradation rates for different components within the classes of free and ester-bound lipids, depending on soil chemical and physical composition. However, Otto and Simpson (2006) found the degradation of cutin and suberin to take place without preference for specific constituents. In general, Quenea et al (2004) described cutin and suberin to be more resistant to degradation than free lipids residing in the same particle size fraction.…”

Section: Isoprenoidsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Opportunities and limitations related to the application of plant-derived lipid molecular proxies in soil science

Jansen

Wiesenberg

2017

SOIL

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Abstract. The application of lipids in soils as molecular proxies, also often referred to as biomarkers, has dramatically increased in the last decades. Applications range from inferring changes in past vegetation composition, climate, and/or human presence to unraveling the input and turnover of soil organic matter (SOM). The molecules used are extractable and non-extractable lipids, including ester-bound lipids. In addition, the carbon or hydrogen isotopic composition of such molecules is used. While holding great promise, the application of soil lipids as molecular proxies comes with several constraining factors, the most important of which are (i) variability in the molecular composition of plant-derived organic matter both internally and between individual plants, (ii) variability in (the relative contribution of) input pathways into the soil, and (iii) the transformation and/or (selective) degradation of (some of) the molecules once present in the soil. Unfortunately, the information about such constraining factors and their impact on the applicability of molecular proxies is fragmented and scattered. The purpose of this study is to provide a critical review of the current state of knowledge with respect to the applicability of molecular proxies in soil science, specifically focusing on the factors constraining such applicability. Variability in genetic, ontogenetic, and environmental factors influences plant n-alkane patterns in such a way that no unique compounds or specific molecular proxies pointing to, for example, plant community differences or environmental influences, exist. Other components, such as n-alcohols, n-fatty acids, and cutin-and suberin-derived monomers, have received far less attention in this respect. Furthermore, there is a high diversity of input pathways offering both opportunities and limitations for the use of molecular proxies at the same time. New modeling approaches might offer a possibility to unravel such mixed input signals. Finally, the transformation and turnover of SOM offer opportunities when tracing such processes is the purpose of applying a molecular proxy while imposing limitations when they obliterate the molecular proxy signals linked to other phenomena. For n-alkanes several modeling approaches have recently been developed to compensate for (selective) degradation. Still, such techniques are in their infancy and information about their applicability to classes of components other than n-alkanes is lacking. All constraining factors considered can have a significant influence on the applicability of molecular proxies in soil science. The degree of influence strongly depends on the type of molecular proxy and the environmental context in which it is applied. However, the potential impact of the constraining factors should always explicitly be addressed whenever molecular proxies are applied in a soil scientific context. More importantly, there is still a serious lack of available information, in particular for compound classes other than the n-alkanes. Therefore, we...

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Section: Isoprenoidsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Opportunities and limitations related to the application of plant-derived lipid molecular proxies in soil science

Jansen

Wiesenberg

2017

SOIL

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“…4 and Table 1). Several studies have shown that aliphatic biopolymers are highly resistant to biodegradation and can be well preserved in soils (Gleixner et al, 2001;Winkler et al, 2005;Otto and Simpson, 2006). The high proportion of linear alkane/alkene peaks in the Py-GC/MS data in peat segments below 10 cm at D2 and M suggested that aliphatic polymer material is an important part of the lower peat organic matter (Fig.…”

Section: Peat Compositionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen

2010

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Abstract.Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and represent both an important stock of soil carbon and a substantial natural source of relevant greenhouse gases like CO 2 and CH 4 . While it is known that the quality of organic matter affects microbial degradation and mineralization processes in peatlands, the manner in which the quality of peat organic matter affects the formation of CO 2 and CH 4 remains unclear. In this study we developed a fast and simple peat quality index in order to estimate its potential greenhouse gas formation by linking the thermo-degradability of peat with potential anaerobic CO 2 and CH 4 formation rates. Peat samples were obtained at several depths (0-40 cm) at four sampling locations from an acidic fen (pH∼4.7). CO 2 and CH 4 formation rates were highly spatially variable and depended on depth, sampling location, and the composition of pyrolysable organic matter. Peat samples active in CO 2 and CH 4 formation had a quality index above 1.35, and the fraction of thermally labile pyrolyzable organic matter (comparable to easily available carbon substrates for microbial activity) obtained by thermogravimetry was above 35%. Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry mainly identified carbohydrates and lignin as pyrolysis products in these samples, indicating that undecomposed organic matter was found in this fraction. In contrast, lipids and unspecific pyrolysis products, which indicate recalcitrant and highly decomposed organic matter, correlated significantly with lower CO 2 formation and reduced methanogenesis. Our results suggest that undecomposed organic matter is a prerequisite for CH 4 and CO 2 development in acidic fens. Furthermore, the new peat quality index should aide the estimation of potential greenhouse gas formation resulting from peatland restoration and permafrost thawing and help yield more robust models of trace gas fluxes from peatlands for climate change research.

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“…The relative abundances of x-C 18:1 , and C 18:1 DA were high in roots and 9,10,x-C 18:1 was high in leaves compared to other inputs but were relatively depleted in POM ( Table 6). The relative decay rates of the cutin and suberin monomers appears to be environment specific but a number of studies that have shown hydroxy acids with double bonds and ones with more than one hydroxyl group can be preferentially degraded compared to compounds without these features (Goñi and Hedges 1990c;Otto and Simpson 2006;Feng and Simpson 2007). The relative abundance of phydroxycinnamic acid was high in sweet gum leaf body tissue but did not remain high in POM.…”

Section: Relative Importance Of Individual Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Earthworms, stand age, and species composition interact to influence particulate organic matter chemistry during forest succession

et al. 2008

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The landscapes colonized by invasive earthworms in the eastern U.S. are often patchworks of forest stands in various stages of successional development. We established six field sites in tulip poplar dominated forests in the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD, that span mid (50-70 years-three plots) and late (120-150 years-three plots) successional stages where younger sites had greater earthworm density and biomass than older sites and were dominated by nonnative lumbricid species. In particular Lumbricus rubellus, a litter-feeding species, was abundant in mid successional forests. Here, we separated particulate organic matter (POM) from the bulk soil by a combination of size and density fractionation and found that patterns in soil POM chemistry were similar to those found previously during litter decay: in younger forests with high abundance of earthworms, organic carbon normalized cutin-and suberinderived substituted fatty acid (SFA) concentration was lower and lignin-derived phenols greater than in older forests where earthworms were less abundant. The chemistry of the dominant litter from mid versus late successional tree species did not fully explain the differences in POM chemistry between age classes. Instead, the differences in leaf body versus petiole and leaf versus root chemistry were the dominant drivers of POM chemistry in mid versus late successional stands, although aspects of stand age and tree species also impacted POM chemistry. Our results indicate that preferential ingestion of leaf body tissue by earthworms and the subsequent shifts in sources of plant biopolymers in soil influenced POM chemistry in mid successional forests. These results indicate that invasive earthworm activity in North American forests contributes to a shift in the aromatic and aliphatic composition of POM and thus potentially influences carbon stabilization in soil.

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Sources and composition of hydrolysable aliphatic lipids and phenols in soils from western Canada

Cited by 156 publications

References 41 publications

Opportunities and limitations related to the application of plant-derived lipid molecular proxies in soil science

Opportunities and limitations related to the application of plant-derived lipid molecular proxies in soil science

Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen

Earthworms, stand age, and species composition interact to influence particulate organic matter chemistry during forest succession

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