Carbon and nitrogen distribution and processes in forest and agricultural ecosystems: a study involving solid- and liquid-state NMR and pyrolysis GC/MS

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Carbon and nitrogen distribution and processes in forest and agricultural ecosystems: a study involving solid- and liquid-state NMR and pyrolysis GC/MS

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dc.contributor.advisor Hatcher, Patrick G en_US
dc.contributor.author Dria, Karl Jay en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2008-07-07T19:13:43Z
dc.date.available 2008-07-07T19:13:43Z
dc.date.created 2004 en_US
dc.date.issued 2008-07-07T19:13:43Z
dc.identifier.uri http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1085700625 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/7046
dc.description Forest and agricultural ecosystems comprise a large portion of the United States. Soil organic matter (SOM) is viewed as the organic source of C and N for plants and microorganisms as well as an important C and N sink in these soils. To obtain a better understanding of C and N cycling in forest and agricultural ecosystems, one needs to understand humification, transformations, the chemistry of the various inputs and the chemical structural changes that these materials are subjected to on their path towards soil formation. For the forest study, a vertical transect of samples was collected from the forest canopy to the subsoil in the Harvard Forest before and after ten years of chronic N fertilization to determine compositional changes caused by ten years of fertilization and assess the effects of N loading. Currently, little is known about carbon structural types, quantity or quality preserved as a result of agricultural management practices. Soil samples and various OM inputs (before and after degradation) were collected from agricultural soils under conventional and organic management practices. Samples from both ecosystems were characterized using elemental analysis, solid-state 13C and 15N NMR, and pyrolysis GC/MS. 13C NMR spectra from all samples contain signals associated with paraffinic, carbohydrate, aromatic and carboxyl structures. NMR spectra of soil inputs are dominated by carbohydrate carbons, while these intensities are severely diminished in the soil. An important observation is that the dominant persistent structures are paraffinic-type carbons in forest and agricultural ecosystems and, to a lesser extent, lignin structures in the agricultural system. However, comparison of the paraffinic signatures of the major OM inputs to the soils suggests that these are not the primary source of persistent paraffinic structures. In the forest system, N fertilization caused an increase in lipid-extractable paraffinic structures in oak leaves, an increase in N content in leaves, and slower litter decomposition in O and A soil horizons under pine and hardwood trees. In the agricultural system, minimal differences were observed between organic and conventionally managed soil, while crop residue lignin-to-nitrogen ratio differences were observed between management practices. en_US
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2008-07-07T19:13:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 en
dc.format application/pdf en_US
dc.format xv, 214 p. :ill (some col.) en_US
dc.rights unrestricted en_US
dc.rights Copyright and permissions information available at the source archive en_US
dc.subject 13C NMR en_US
dc.subject 15N NMR en_US
dc.subject Pyrolysis GC/MS en_US
dc.subject soil organic matter (SOM) en_US
dc.subject Harvard Forest en_US
dc.subject Klason lignin analysis en_US
dc.subject Organic farming en_US
dc.title Carbon and nitrogen distribution and processes in forest and agricultural ecosystems: a study involving solid- and liquid-state NMR and pyrolysis GC/MS en_US
dc.type Electronic Thesis or Dissertation en_US
dc.degree.name PhD en_US
dc.degree.level doctoral en_US
dc.degree.discipline Chemistry en_US
dc.degree.grantor Ohio State University en_US
dc.contributor.publisher Ohio State University / OhioLINK en_US

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