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A dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources

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  • Thea Whitman

    (Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University
    Present address: Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA)

  • Johannes Lehmann

    (Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University
    Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Cornell University)

Abstract

Stable isotopes have proved to be a transformative tool; their application to distinguish between two sources in a mixture has been a cornerstone of biogeochemical research. However, quantitatively partitioning systems using two stable isotopes (for example, 13C and 12C) has been largely limited to only two sources, and systems of interest often have more than two components, with interactive effects. Here we introduce a dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources, using only two stable isotopes. We demonstrate this approach by partitioning soil CO2 emissions derived from microbial mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC), added pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) and root respiration. We find that SOC mineralization in the presence of roots is 23% higher (P

Suggested Citation

  • Thea Whitman & Johannes Lehmann, 2015. "A dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-6, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms9708
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9708
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