Assessment of bias in carbon isotope composition of organic leaf matter due to pre-analysis milling methods

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dc.contributor.authorWorne, S.
dc.contributor.authorLacey, J.H.
dc.contributor.authorBarr, C.
dc.contributor.authorSchulz, C.
dc.contributor.authorLeng, M.J.
dc.contributor.conference11th International Conference on Chemical Kinetics (23 Jun 2019 - 27 Jun 2019 : France)
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionFirst published: 04 June 2021
dc.description.abstractRationale Stable isotope analysis of leaf material has many applications including assessment of plant water-use efficiency and palaeoclimatology. To facilitate interpretations of small shifts in the carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of leaves, accurate and repeatable results are required. Pre-sample homogenisation is essential to ensure a representative sample is analysed, but can also introduce error. Methods We investigate how different grinding methods (freezer-milling and ball-milling) affect the carbon content and δ13C of tree leaves from a wetland in Queensland, Australia, commenting on how increased temperature, sample contamination, sample loss or poor homogenisation may impact results. Results No alteration of leaf δ13C is observed due to different milling methods, although there may be a significant increase in %C of samples processed using ball-milling. Conclusions We suggest %C variability is possibly due to contamination from abraded plastic vials or insufficient homogenisation during ball-milling, with no significant impact on δ13C. Overall, we suggest that intermittent ball-milling may be the best solution to reduce costs, preparation time and use of liquid nitrogen, aiming to achieve complete homogenisation using the shortest possible duration of milling.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilitySavannah Worne, Jack H. Lacey, Cameron Barr, Cameron Schulz, Melanie J. Leng
dc.identifier.citationRapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2021, vol.39, iss.S1, pp.1-7
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/rcm.9134
dc.identifier.issn0951-4198
dc.identifier.issn1097-0231
dc.identifier.orcidBarr, C. [0000-0003-0436-8702]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/131538
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP190102782
dc.relation.ispartofseriesRapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry;
dc.rights© 2021 The Authors. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.9134
dc.titleAssessment of bias in carbon isotope composition of organic leaf matter due to pre-analysis milling methods
dc.typeConference paper
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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