Demystifying the tropics: FTIR characterization of pantropical woods and their α-cellulose extracts for past atmospheric ¹⁴ C reconstructions

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Griffin, June Nakachi ; Santos, Guaciara M. ; Nguyen, Lucas Duy ; Rodriguez, Daigard R. O. ; Pereira, Lucas G. ; Jaen-Barrios, Nelson ; Assis-Pereira, Gabriel ; Barreto, Nathan de Oliveira ; Brandes, Arno F. N. ; Barbosa, Ana Carolina ; Groenendijk, Peter

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science of The Total Environment; v. 949, p. 12-pg., 2024-07-30.

Abstract

To ensure unbiased tree-ring radiocarbon (14C) results, traditional pretreatments carefully isolate wood cellulose from extractives using organic solvents, among other chemicals. The addition of solvents is laborious, timeconsuming, and can increase the risk of carbon contamination. Tropical woods show a high diversity in woodanatomical and extractive composition, but the necessity of organic-solvent extraction for the 14C dating of these diverse woods remains untested. We applied a chemical treatment that excludes the solvent step on the wood of 8 tropical tree species sampled in South-America and Africa, with different wood-anatomical and extractive properties. We analyzed the success of the extractive removal along with several steps of the alpha-cellulose extraction procedure using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and further confirmed the quality of 14C measurements after extraction. The alpha-cellulose extracts obtained here showed FTIR-spectra free of signals from various extractives and the 14C results on these samples showed reliable results. The chemical method evaluated reduces the technical complexity required to prepare alpha-cellulose samples for 14C dating, and therefore can bolster global atmospheric 14C applications, especially in the tropics. (AU)

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