Nitrogen NEXAFS spectra for uncharred OM, PyOM, PyOM after extraction and PyOM toluene extract and C_N mineralization data for uncharred OM and PyOM

Abstract

This data is shared under a CC BY-NC license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/); the data are free to use with proper attribution and acknowledgment of the original authors, and may not be used for commercial purposes. Users must also indicate that the conclusions and assumptions made from analysis of these data are not necessarily the view of the original authors, Cornell University, or the project funders (see sponsorship information above).The molecular structure of pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) is generally considered to exert a dominant control on PyOM-C mineralization, yet similar information is lacking for PyOM-N. In this study, we evaluated how the thermal conversion of organic matter (OM) into PyOM altered the N molecular structure and affected subsequent C and N mineralization. Nitrogen near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) of uncharred OM, PyOM, PyOM toluene extract, and PyOM after toluene extraction were used to predict PyOM-C and –N mineralization potentials. PyOM was produced from three different feedstocks (e.g. Maize- Zea mays L.; Ryegrass- Lollium perenne L.; and Willow-Salix viminalix L.) each with varying initial N content at three pyrolysis temperatures (350, 500 and 700°C). Mineralization of C and N was measured from incubations of uncharred OM and PyOM in a sand matrix for 256 days at 30°C. This data set provides a library of nitrogen (1s) near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of organic N reference compounds and uncharred OM, PyOM, PyOM toluene extract, and PyOM after toluene extraction used in this study. The dataset also contains the C and N mineralization data used to correlated N molecular structure information to PyOM-C persistence in the environment. The datafiles include processed data and derived quantities.This study was supported in part by the Cornell University Program in Biogeochemisty and Environmental Biocomplexity, National Science Foundation’s Basic Research for Enabling Agricultural Development (NSF-BREAD Grant number IOS-0965336) and the Fondation des Fondateurs. DT acknowledges support from the NSF IGERT Program (DGE-0903371). Research described in this paper was performed at the Canadian Light Source, which is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the University Saskatchewan, the Government of Saskatchewan, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the National Research Council Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research