Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/16193| Title: | Crown humus: Part I-The chemistry of the canopy organic matter of rain forests in Costa Rica |
| Authors: | Ghosal, S Muruganandam, A V Chauhan, S Kawanishi, K Saiki, K Nadkarni, N M |
| Issue Date: | Jan-1999 |
| Publisher: | NISCAIR-CSIR, India |
| Abstract: | In some tropical rain forests
organic matter, derived from epiphytic plants accumulates as heavy mats on tall
tree tops (Crown), trunks and branches. Upon microbial and abiotic (chemical, geological)
interactions, the canopy organic matter (COM) is transformed into Crown humus. Detailed
chemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses of seven COM samples (COM-1
to -7), collected from five different tree tops, and one soil sample collected
from the corresponding forest floor (FF-1 ), from Monte Verde Reserve Forest,
in Costa Rica, have been carried out in respect of their low Mw
organic compounds and the contained humus. The nature and chemical
characteristics of these arboreal humic substances are compared with those of
their terrestrial and aquatic counterparts. Some striking similarities,
particularly in the core structures of fulvic acids (FAs), occurring in three
different natural habitats (arboreal, terrestrial and aquatic), are observed.
Like those of terrestrial and aquatic –Fas, the molecular architecture of the Crown-FAs
constitute metallo-organic complexes of mono-, di- and oligomeric oxygenated dibenzo- -pyrones
(1-4, 9a, b, 11, Chart 1). However,
the ecological and geochemical conditions of the arboreal miniecosystem being
different, are reflected in the simpler structures of large variety of its secondary metabolites (Tables I & II ) entrapped in the inner core and outer-surface of
the Crown humus. The role of these compounds in the microbial (chemoheterotroph)
metabolic sequence enroute to Crown humus is appraised. |
| Page(s): | 67-75 |
| Appears in Collections: | IJC-B Vol.38B(01) [January 1999] |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IJCB 38B(1) 67-75.pdf | 2.15 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in NOPR are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.