Search results for "natural abundance"

Counting IndividualCa41Atoms with a Magneto-Optical Trap

2004

Atom trap trace analysis, a novel method based upon laser trapping and cooling, is used to count individual atoms of $^{41}\mathrm{Ca}$ present in biomedical samples with isotopic abundance levels between ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ and ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}$. The method is calibrated against resonance ionization mass spectrometry, demonstrating good agreement between the two methods. The present system has a counting efficiency of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$. Within 1 h of observation time, its $3\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}\ensuremath{\sigma}$ detection limit on the isotopic abundance of $^{41}\mathrm{Ca}$ reaches $4.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10…

Soil carbon dynamics during secondary succession in a semi-arid Mediterranean environment

2018

Clarifying which factors cause an increase or decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC) after agricultural abandonment requires integration of data on the temporal dynamics of the plant community and SOC. A chronosequence of abandoned vineyards was studied on a volcanic island (Pantelleria, Italy). Vegetation in the abandoned fields was initially dominated by annual and perennial herbs, then by Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf, and finally by woody communities. As a consequence, the dominant photosynthetic pathway changed from C3 to C4 and then back to C3. Conversion of a plant community dominated by one photosynthetic pathway to another changes the 13C/12C ratio of inputs to soil organic carbon (S…

Turnover and availability of soil organic carbon under different Mediterranean land-uses as estimated by 13C natural abundance

2013

Summary Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important factor in ecosystem stability and productivity. This is especially the case for Mediterranean soils suffering from the impact of humans and degradation as well as harsh climatic conditions. We used the carbon (C) exchange resulting from C3-C4 and C4-C3 vegetation change under field conditions combined with incubations under controlled conditions to evaluate the turnover and availability of soil organic C under different land-uses. The 40-year succession of Hyparrenia hirta L. (C4 photosynthesis) after more than 85 years of olive (Olea europaea L.) tree (C3 photosynthesis) growth led to the exchange of 54% of soil organic C from C3 to C4 form…

Theoretical evaluation of 15N isotopic methods for measuring symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the fied

2008

International audience; Isotopic methods for the measurement of symbiotic N2 fixation by leguminous plants in the field rely on the use of differences in 15N enrichment between the N sources potentially available for leguminous crops, soil mineral N and atmospheric N2 . This methodology has been fully documented, especially concerning limitations due to non uniform and non constant distribution of 15N and to the use of a reference plant to measure it. Although all authors recognise the necessity of isotopic methods for giving yield independent and time-integrated estimates of symbiotic fixation, they also agree that these methods intrinsically remain imperfect. Our aim in this chapter is (i…

2015

Chemical ligation has been used to alter motions in specific regions of dihydrofolate reductase from E. coli and to investigate the effects of localized motional changes on enzyme catalysis. Two isotopic hybrids were prepared; one with the mobile N-terminal segment containing heavy isotopes (2H, 13C, 15N) and the remainder of the protein with natural isotopic abundance, and the other one with only the C-terminal segment isotopically labeled. Kinetic investigations indicated that isotopic substitution of the N-terminal segment affected only a physical step of catalysis, whereas the enzyme chemistry was affected by protein motions from the C-terminal segment. QM/MM studies support the idea th…

The effect of Shallow Tillage on soil erosion in a semi-arid vineyard

2019

Soil erosion has been considered a threat for semi-arid lands due to the removal of solid materials by water and wind. Although water erosion is currently considered the most important process of soil degradation, a growing interest has been drawn to the impact of soil tillage. Although numerous studies on tillage erosion have been carried out on arable land using a moldboard plow, a chisel, and a tandem disc for different crops, there are no studies on the effect of shallow tillage on soil redistribution in vineyards. The aim of this work was to evaluate the soil tillage erosion rate in a vineyard using a 13C natural abundance tracer. A strip of soil (C3-C soil) was removed, mixed with C4-…