Research article

DOI: 10.15287/afr.2015.356

Application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to characterize organic chemical components of decomposing coarse woody debris from different climatic regions

Takuya Hishinuma, Takashi Osono , Yu Fukasawa, Jun-ichi Azuma, Hiroshi Takeda

Takuya Hishinuma
Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113 Japan
Takashi Osono
Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113 Japan. Email: tosono@ecology.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Yu Fukasawa
Laboratory of Forest Ecology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Miyagi 989-6711, Japan
Jun-ichi Azuma
Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Hiroshi Takeda
Wild Life Preservation Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan

Online First: March 31, 2015
Hishinuma, T., Osono, T., Fukasawa, Y., Azuma, J., Takeda, H. 2015. Application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to characterize organic chemical components of decomposing coarse woody debris from different climatic regions. Annals of Forest Research DOI:10.15287/afr.2015.356


Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was applied to coarse woody debris (CWD) in different stages of decomposition and collected from forest floor of a subtropical, a cool temperate, and a subalpine forest in Japan. The purpose was to test its applicability to characterize organic chemical composition of CWD of broad-leaved and coniferous trees from different climatic conditions. O-alkyl-C, mainly representing carbohydrates, was the predominant component of CWD at the three sites, accounting for 43.5-58.1% of the NMR spectra. Generally, the relative area under the signals for aromatic-C and phenolic-C, mainly representing lignin, increased, whereas the relative area for O-alkyl-C decreased, as the decay class advanced. The relative area under NMR chemical shift regions was significantly correlated with the chemical properties examined with proximate analyses. That is, O-alkyl-C and di-O-alkyl-C NMR signal areas were positively correlated with the volumetric density of CWD and the content of total carbohydrates. Methoxyl-C, aromatic-C, phenolic-C, carboxyl-C, and carbonyl-C were positively correlated with the contents of acid-unhydrolyzable residues (lignin, tannins, and cutin) and nitrogen. Lignin-C calculated from NMR signals increased, and polysaccharide-C decreased, with the decay class of CWD at the three study sites. A review of previous studies on 13C NMR spectroscopy for decomposing CWD suggested further needs of its application to broad-leaved trees from tropical and subtropical regions.


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