Chemical methods for tracing the origin of organic matter in soils and sediments

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Event details

Date 22.02.2010
Hour 16:15
Speaker Grasset, Laurent (Université de Poitiers, France)
Location
GR B3 30
Category Conferences - Seminars
Little is known about the molecular composition and fate of soil organic matter, a central compartment in the carbon cycle. Due to its complex origin (plants, microbes, fungi), it is essential to employ a range of complementary approaches. In this talk, I will present various analytical chemical techniques, including 'wet' chemical and pyrolysis methods, that are being used to systematically disentangle complex soil organic matter and release simpler chemical moieties, analysable by GC and GC/MS. These techniques are being employed extensively to characterise and track the fate of different organic matter classes, e.g. lignin, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, into soils and sediments. The overarching aim is to obtain data for use in models of element cycles (e.g. carbon), which are important in assessing the effects of global warming.

Practical information

  • General public
  • Free

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