Abstract

Soil organic matter (SOM) constitutes an important reservoir of terrestrial carbon and can be considered analternative for atmospheric carbon storage, contributing to global warming mitigation. Soil management canfavor atmospheric carbon incorporation into SOM or its release from SOM to atmosphere. Thus, the evaluationof the humification degree (HD), which is an indication of the recalcitrance of SOM, can provide an estimationof the capacity of carbon sequestration in soils under various managements. The HD of SOM can be estimatedby using various analytical techniques including fluorescence spectroscopy. In the present work, the potential ofLaser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to estimate the HD of SOM was evaluated for the first time. In aLIBS experiment a high-energy laser pulse irradiates the sample and the energy absorbed by the sample causesa local heating of the material that results in its evaporation or sublimation. The high temperature of the ablatedmaterial generates a small plasma plume and, as a result of the plasma temperature, the ablated material breaksdown into excited atomic and ionic species. During the plasma cooling, the excited species return to their lowerenergy state emitting electromagnetic radiation at characteristic wavelengths. In a LIBS spectrum the measurementof the characteristic emission wavelengths provides qualitative information about the elemental composition ofthe sample, whereas the intensities of the signals can be used for quantitative determinations. The LIBS potentialfor the analysis of organic compounds has been explored recently by using the emission lines of elements that arecommonly present in organic compounds, such as the predominant C, H, P, O and N. LIBS elemental emissionswere correlated to fluorescence emissions determined by Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy (LIFS), whichwas considered as the reference technique. The HD of SOM determined by LIBS showed a strong correlation tothat determined by LIFS, suggesting a great potential of LIBS for this novel application.

Autore Pugliese

• Senesi Giorgio Saverio

Tutti gli autori

• Edi. Ferreira ; Edn. Ferreira ; P. Villas-Boas ; G. Senesi ; C. Carvalho ;R. Romano ; L. Martin-Neto ; D. Milori

Titolo volume/Rivista

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Anno di pubblicazione

2014

ISSN

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ISBN

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Numero di citazioni Wos

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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