Stable isotope ratio (¹³C/¹²C) mass spectrometry to evaluate carbon sources and sinks: changes and trends during the decomposition of vegetal debris from eucalyptus clone plantations (NW Spain)

Abstract. Vegetal debris is known to participate in key soil processes such as the formation of soil organic matter (OM), also being a potential source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. However, its contribution to the isotopic composition of both the soil OM and the atmospheric carbon dioxide is not clear yet. Hence, the main objective of the present research is to understand the isotopic ¹³C changes and trends that take place during the successive biodegradative stages of decomposing soil organic inputs. By incubating bulk plant tissues for several months under laboratory controlled conditions, the kinetics of the CO₂ releases and shifts in the ¹³C natural abundance of the solid residues were investigated using litter samples coming from forest plantations with a different clone (Anselmo: 1st clonal generation attained by morphological selection and Odiel: 2nd clonal generation genetically obtained) of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. developed over granitic or schistic bedrocks and located in northwestern Spain. Significant isotopic variations with time were observed, probably due to the isotopically heterogeneous composition of these complex substrates in conjunction with the initial selective consumption of more easily degradable ¹³C-differentiated compounds during the first stages of the biodegradation, while less available or recalcitrant litter components were decomposed at later stages of biodegradation, generating products that have their own specific isotopic signatures. These results, which significantly differ depending on the type of clone, suggest that caution must be exercised when interpreting carbon isotope studies (at natural abundance levels) since perturbations associated with the quality or chemical composition of the organic debris from different terrestrial ecosystems can have an important effect on the carbon stable isotope dynamics.