A comprehensive study on composition, biomarkers, and environmental impact of humic substances from permanent and seasonal tropical wetlands

• Grant number: 23/16835-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: February 11, 2024
• End date: May 29, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Vania Silvia Rosolen
• Grantee: Karen Luko Sulato
• Supervisor: Jose Antonio Gonzalez Perez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Instituto De Recursos Naturales Y Agrobiología De Sevilla, Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/06332-1 - Composition of humic substances and their role in electron transfer in wet areas of the São Paulo Peripheral Depression, BP.PD

Abstract

This research project aims to investigate the complex dynamics of humic substances in wetland ecosystems, characterize their molecular composition, identify organic matter sources, and assess their environmental impact. Through comprehensive analytical methods, including pyrolysis-GC/MS analysis and biomarker assessments, the study explores the relationships between humic substance composition and environmental factors. It is expected to generate data to unravel the sources of organic matter, discerning contributions from past vegetation and thereby the environmental conditions of its formation, by employing biomarkers assessment. The raised data is expected to be associated with the electron transfer process and GHG fluxes in the wetlands. Lastly, it is expected to raise important data that enable the interpretation of the processes associated with how changes in surrounding environments influence the biogeochemical carbon cycle and GHG production in these wetland areas, providing valuable information into the potential amplification or mitigation effects of humic substances in response to external environmental changes.