Antonio Martínez Cortizas

Bio: Antonio Martínez Cortizas is an academic researcher from University of Santiago de Compostela. The author has contributed to research in topics: Peat & Holocene. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 137 publications receiving 2505 citations. Previous affiliations of Antonio Martínez Cortizas include Spanish National Research Council.

Latitudinal limits to the predicted increase of the peatland carbon sink with warming

Abstract: The carbon sink potential of peatlands depends on the balance of carbon uptake by plants and microbial decomposition The rates of both these processes will increase with warming but it remains unclear which will dominate the global peatland response Here we examine the global relationship between peatland carbon accumulation rates during the last millennium and planetary-scale climate space A positive relationship is found between carbon accumulation and cumulative photosynthetically active radiation during the growing season for mid- to high-latitude peatlands in both hemispheres However, this relationship reverses at lower latitudes, suggesting that carbon accumulation is lower under the warmest climate regimes Projections under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)26 and RCP85 scenarios indicate that the present-day global sink will increase slightly until around ad 2100 but decline thereafter Peatlands will remain a carbon sink in the future, but their response to warming switches from a negative to a positive climate feedback (decreased carbon sink with warming) at the end of the twenty-first century

Differentiation between pine woods according to species and growing location using FTIR-ATR

Abstract: Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy was applied to 120 samples of heartwood rings from eight individual pine trees from different locations in Spain. Pinus sylvestris cores were collected at the Artikutza natural park (Ps-ART). Pinus nigra cores were collected in Sierra de Cazorla (Pn-LIN) and in La Sagra Mountain (Pn-LSA). Three discriminant analysis tests were performed using all bands (DFT), lignin bands only (DFL) and polysaccharides bands only (DFP), to explore the ability of FTIR-ATR to separate between species and growing location. The DFL model enabled a good separation between pine species, whereas the DFP model enabled differentiation for both species and growing location. The DFT model enabled virtually perfect separation, based on two functions involving twelve FTIR bands. Discrimination between species was related to bands at 860 and 1655 cm-1, which were more intense in P. sylvestris samples, and bands at 1425 and 1635 cm-1, more intense in P. nigra samples. These vibrations were related to differences in lignin structure and polysaccharide linear chains. Discrimination between growing locations was mainly related to polysaccharide absorptions: at 900, 1085 and 1335 cm-1 more representative of Pn-LIN samples, and at 1105 and 1315 cm-1 mostly associated to Pn-LSA samples. These absorptions are related to β-glycosidic linkages (900 cm-1), cellulose and hemicellulose (C-O bonds, 1085 and 1105 cm-1) and content in amorphous/crystalline cellulose (1315 and 1335 cm-1). These results show that FTIR-ATR in combination with multivariate statistics can be a useful tool for species identification and provenancing for pine wood samples of unknown origin.

Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals

Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

Heavy metals in soils : trace metals and metalloids in soils and their bioavailability

Abstract: Preface.- Contributors.- List of Abbreviations.- Section 1: Basic Principles: Introduction.-Sources of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils.- Chemistry of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils.- Methods for the Determination of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Soils.- Effects of Heavy Metals and Metalloids on Soil Organisms.- Soil-Plant Relationships of Heavy Metals and Metalloids.- Heavy Metals and Metalloids as Micronutrients for Plants and Animals.-Critical Loads of Heavy Metals for Soils.- Section 2: Key Heavy Metals And Metalloids: Arsenic.- Cadmium.- Chromium and Nickel.- Cobalt and Manganese.- Copper.-Lead.- Mercury.- Selenium.- Zinc.- Section 3: Other Heavy Metals And Metalloids Of Potential Environmental Significance: Antimony.- Barium.- Gold.- Molybdenum.- Silver.- Thallium.- Tin.- Tungsten.- Uranium.- Vanadium.- Glossary of Specialized Terms.- Index.

Characterization of slow pyrolysis biochars: effects of feedstocks and pyrolysis temperature on biochar properties.

Abstract: Biochars are increasingly used as soil amendment and for C sequestration in soils. The influence of feedstock differences and pyrolysis temperature on biochar characteristics has been widely studied. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the formation of potentially toxic compounds that remain in the biochars after pyrolysis. We investigated biochars from three feedstocks (wheat straw, poplar wood, and spruce wood) that were slowly pyrolyzed at 400, 460, and 525°C for 5 h (straw) and 10 h (woodchips), respectively. We characterized the biochars' pH, electrical conductivity, elemental composition (by dry combustion and X-ray fluorescence), surface area (by N adsorption), water-extractable major elements, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). We further conducted differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffractometry to obtain information on the biochars' molecular characteristics and mineralogical composition. We investigated trace metal content, total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content, and PAH composition in the biochars. The highest salt (4.92 mS cm) and ash (12.7%) contents were found in straw-derived biochars. The H/C ratios of biochars with highest treatment temperature (HTT) 525°C were 0.46 to 0.40. Surface areas were low but increased (1.8-56 m g) with increasing HTT, whereas CEC decreased (162-52 mmol kg) with increasing HTT. The results of DSC and FTIR suggested a loss of labile, aliphatic compounds during pyrolysis and the formation of more recalcitrant, aromatic constituents. X-ray diffractometry patterns indicated a mineralogical restructuring of biochars with increasing HTT. Water-extractable major and trace elements varied considerably with feedstock composition, with trace elements also affected by HTT. Total PAH contents (sum of EPA 16 PAHs) were highly variable with values up to 33.7 mg kg; irrespective of feedstock type, the composition of PAHs showed increasing dominance of naphthalene with increasing HTT. The results demonstrate that biochars are highly heterogeneous materials that, depending on feedstock and HTT, may be suitable for soil application by contributing to the nutrient status and adding recalcitrant C to the soil but also potentially pose ecotoxicological challenges.