Ea. Webster et al., FATES OF C-13 FROM ENRICHED GLUCOSE AND GLYCINE IN AN ORGANIC SOIL DETERMINED BY SOLID-STATE NMR, Biology and fertility of soils, 25(4), 1997, pp. 389-395
The transformations of the indigenous C-13 and C-13 from either unifor
mly enriched C-13-D-glucose or C-13-glycine added to an organic soil w
ere followed during a 28-day incubation using cross polarization (CP)
magic angle spinning (MAS) C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spect
roscopy and dipolar dephased (DDP) MAS C-13 NMR. The C mineralization
was determined from C-13 remaining by mass spectrometry and from CO2 e
volution by gas chromatography. DDP MAS C-13 NMR of the unamended soil
indicated a transient increase in molecularly mobile C-13 in the alky
l-and methyl-C over 5 days, which may be due to redistribution of C-13
in the microbial biomass in response to perturbation. The added gluco
se-C-13 remaining declined to 43% after 7 days and 34% after 28 days.
After 28 days the amount of added glucose-C-13 remaining was 6 times g
reater than the biomass C at the outset, while the microbial activity
(CO2 production) was 38% greater, indicating that a significant propor
tion of added glucose-C-13 was not in microorganisms. Added glycine-C-
13 declined faster, such that 29% and 8% remained after 7 and 28 days,
respectively. After 28 days' incubation with C-13-glucose, the O-alky
l-C, the acetal-and ketal-C, and the methyl-and alkyl-C resonances in
CP MAS C-13 NMR spectra were all enhanced compared with the unamended
soil. The calculated T-1 rho H values of the O-alkyl-C and the acetal-
and ketal-C resonances were less than those of crystalline glucose, i
ndicating that there was no substantial reservoir of unreacted glucose
. After 7 days' incubation with C-13-glycine, none of the signals in t
he CP MAS C-13 NMR spectra were enhanced when compared with the unamen
ded soil, indicating that the added C-13 remaining was distributed in
undetectable quantities in a range of functionalities. The calculated
T-1 rho H values indicated that glycine C-13 was in O-alkyl-C, acetal-
and ketal-C and carbonyl-C. T1 rho H values may be more sensitive to
changes in the distribution of C-13 when C-13 content is low. The DDP
MAS C-13 NMR spectra of both the C-13-glucose-and the C-13-glycine-ame
nded soil showed that the molecularly mobile alkyl-and methyl-C increa
sed compared with the unamended soil.