Soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization signifies reduction in soil fertility and release of greenhouse gases (1). An effective technology for soil carbon stabilization requires an extended knowledge of SOC turnover dynamics at a molecular level. To reach this goal, we applied the humeomics methodology on a soil cropped with maize or wheat after 1 and 3 years of conventional tillage and characterized the molecular development of soil humeome (2). Humeomics used advanced analytical techniques, such as ESI-Orbitrap- and GC-MS, to identify both organosoluble and hydrosoluble molecules (3) solvated from the supramolecular SOC structure (2.) Therefore, humeomics provided a measure of the degree of organic matter chemical protection, such as the ratio of OC in the organosoluble/hydrosoluble material. This ratio was 0.75 in the case of maize crop (4), and it dropped to 0.49 for the wheat crop. GC-MS analysis revealed that fatty acids were the main compounds contributing to the hydrophobic character in all organosoluble fractions. The unbound organosoluble fraction under maize comprised also of alkanes, which were oxidized to alcohols under wheat, while sugars dominated the bound fraction for both crops, although for wheat they were 50% lesser than in maize. The major difference in the organomineral compounds was due to the amides which were absent under wheat but stabilized under maize. Our findings revealed that the complex supramolecular arrangement of the soil humeome is extremely dynamic and humeomics can identify the molecular changes induced by the different agricultural management in just 2 years period. 1. Piccolo A. Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soils (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2012). 2. Drosos M., Nebbioso A., Mazzei P., Vinci G., Spaccini R. & Piccolo A. Sci. Tot. Environ. 586, 807-816 (2017). 3. Nebbioso A. & Piccolo A. Basis of a Humeomics science: Biomacromolecules 12, 1187-1199 (2011). 4. Drosos M. & Piccolo A. Land Degr. Devel. 29, 1792-1805 (2018).
Molecular dynamics of soil Humeome as a function of crop system
Marios Drosos
;
2019-01-01
Abstract
Soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization signifies reduction in soil fertility and release of greenhouse gases (1). An effective technology for soil carbon stabilization requires an extended knowledge of SOC turnover dynamics at a molecular level. To reach this goal, we applied the humeomics methodology on a soil cropped with maize or wheat after 1 and 3 years of conventional tillage and characterized the molecular development of soil humeome (2). Humeomics used advanced analytical techniques, such as ESI-Orbitrap- and GC-MS, to identify both organosoluble and hydrosoluble molecules (3) solvated from the supramolecular SOC structure (2.) Therefore, humeomics provided a measure of the degree of organic matter chemical protection, such as the ratio of OC in the organosoluble/hydrosoluble material. This ratio was 0.75 in the case of maize crop (4), and it dropped to 0.49 for the wheat crop. GC-MS analysis revealed that fatty acids were the main compounds contributing to the hydrophobic character in all organosoluble fractions. The unbound organosoluble fraction under maize comprised also of alkanes, which were oxidized to alcohols under wheat, while sugars dominated the bound fraction for both crops, although for wheat they were 50% lesser than in maize. The major difference in the organomineral compounds was due to the amides which were absent under wheat but stabilized under maize. Our findings revealed that the complex supramolecular arrangement of the soil humeome is extremely dynamic and humeomics can identify the molecular changes induced by the different agricultural management in just 2 years period. 1. Piccolo A. Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soils (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2012). 2. Drosos M., Nebbioso A., Mazzei P., Vinci G., Spaccini R. & Piccolo A. Sci. Tot. Environ. 586, 807-816 (2017). 3. Nebbioso A. & Piccolo A. Basis of a Humeomics science: Biomacromolecules 12, 1187-1199 (2011). 4. Drosos M. & Piccolo A. Land Degr. Devel. 29, 1792-1805 (2018).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
