title: The use of solid-phase fluorescence spectroscopy in the characterisation of organic matter transformations.
abstract: Given its high sensitivity and non-destructive nature, fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy is widely used to differentiate changes and transformations of dissolved or water-extracted organic matter (OM) in natural environments. The same technique applied directly on solid samples (solid-phase fluorescence spectroscopy, SPF-EEM) provides accurate results when used with pharmaceutical products or food samples, but only a few studies have considered natural OM. This study reports on the use of SPF-EEM on solid compost samples and emphasises the way the different maturation phases can be distinguished with fluorophores closely resembling those found in dissolved samples. A very good correlation has been found with data from Rock-Eval pyrolysis, nuclear magnetic resonance ((13)C CPMAS NMR), and humic-fulvic acid ratios determined by conventional NaOH-extraction. SPF-EEM appears as a much simpler method than the conventional ones to detect transformations in natural OM samples with low mineral contents. However, direct application to soil samples requires some additional studies.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Ecological Systems (ECOS), School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 2, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland; Research Unit Community Ecology, WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Site Lausanne, Station 2, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: remyalbrecht@gmail.com.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Verrecchia
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: H-R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
keywords: 13C CPMAS NMR; Compost; Organic matter; Rock-Eval pyrolysis; Solid-phase fluorescence spectroscopy