Alejandra Llerena

Biomass and Necromass in Montane Rain Forests of Northwest of Ecuador

Objectives
1) To study the relationship between necromass and above-ground biomass and wood
density
2) To estimate the necromass of the Montane Rain Forest in the Northwest of Ecuador.
Summary

Forest biomass contains approximately 80% of all aboveground terrestrial carbon

(C) and 40% of belowground C. Therefore, forests are considered an important sink for
atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and provide a great potential for temporarily storing
atmospheric CO2 in terrestrial ecosystems. Enhancing C sequestration by increasing
forested land area has been suggested as an effective measure to mitigate elevated
atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and hence contribute towards the
prevention of global warming.

For a better understanding of the carbon cycle, it is necessary to identify and

quantify organic matter. In relation with the methodology related to the laboratories
visited in the Agronomical Instituted the following essays can be made in order to
determine and assess the molecular structure of the organic matter (OM) in the ground:
Infrared spectroscopy (IR), nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy (NMR) of Carbon-
13 and Nitrogen-15 and Pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS).

Infrared spectroscopy is especially sensitive for the study of OM forms containing

functional groups with O and N.
The nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy allows to carry out a realistic
analysis of the different structural units of MO. This technique is especially suitable to
establish the presence of certain structures that tend to be underestimated in oxidative
degradation methods. The NMR spectroscopy of 15N in solid state studies organic forms
of N in soils with high natural content in 15N and is an especially powerful tool for the
characterization of the biological origin and chemical nature of recalcitrant OM in soils
and sediments
The Pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry implies the thermolytic
breakage of macromolecular materials in small fragments for later analysis by GC / MS.
This characterization technique assumes that the analyzed fragments are representative
of the original macromolecular units. In particular, Py-GC / MS has proven to be a valuable
tool for the structural analysis of lignins. Also, pyrolytic techniques have been widely used
for the structural characterization of humic substances and coals. On the other hand, it
is also interesting that the pyrolysis of polysaccharides generates diagnostic products
which are useful to recognize the presence of constituents derived from carbohydrates
in geomacromolecules.