Eurasian Journal of Soil Science
In Press, Corrected Proof
DOI: 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
(This number will become active after the manuscript has been selected for inclusion in an issue)
Stable URL: https://ejss.fesss.org/manuscript.php?id=4666
Copyright © 2026 The authors and Federation of Eurasian Soil Science Societies
FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions
Abstract
The decomposition of organic residues regulates soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, with substrate biochemical composition strongly controlling mineralization rates and organic matter stabilization. This study evaluated poultry manure (PM) and chestnut leaf litter (LLC) to quantify C and N losses, and to assess Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a rapid tool to monitor residue transformation during field incubation. The materials were incubated under field soil conditions at 20 t ha-1 (dry basis) using a buried litter-bag approach, with six sampling dates represented on a 0-180 normalized-day scale for decomposition modelling and graphical presentation. C and N dynamics were described using a two-pool negative exponential model to estimate labile and recalcitrant fractions and their decay constants, while FTIR spectra were related to residual C and N contents using partial least squares (PLS) regression. LLC, enriched in lignin, polyphenols and structural carbohydrates, decomposed slowly, whereas PM, characterized by higher labile C and N contents, showed faster C and N release. The two-pool model fitted the experimental data well (R2 = 0.876-0.995), with PM showing higher labile pools and decay rates than LLC. Internal cross-validation showed material- and element-dependent PLS performance: for C, Q2 values were 0.88 for PM and 0.98 for LLC, whereas for N they were 0.98 for PM and 0.68 for LLC. Spectral associations suggested that depletion of polysaccharide (1030-1160 cm-1) and aliphatic (2920-2850 cm-1) bands was linked to labile C losses, whereas aromatic (1600-1510 cm-1) and carbonyl (1740-1650 cm-1) regions were associated with the persistence of more resistant C and N fractions. Overall, FTIR coupled with PLS showed strong potential as a rapid and non-destructive approach for assessing residue quality and predicting decomposition trajectories under field conditions. However, the predictive performance demonstrated here should be interpreted within the context of the present experimental dataset, and independent external validation across a broader range of organic residues, soils, and climatic conditions is required before wider applicability can be established.
Keywords
Carbon, nitrogen, mass loss, FTIR, litter-bag, residue decomposition
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Abstract
The decomposition of organic residues regulates soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, with substrate biochemical composition strongly controlling mineralization rates and organic matter stabilization. This study evaluated poultry manure (PM) and chestnut leaf litter (LLC) to quantify C and N losses, and to assess Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a rapid tool to monitor residue transformation during field incubation. The materials were incubated under field soil conditions at 20 t ha-1 (dry basis) using a buried litter-bag approach, with six sampling dates represented on a 0-180 normalized-day scale for decomposition modelling and graphical presentation. C and N dynamics were described using a two-pool negative exponential model to estimate labile and recalcitrant fractions and their decay constants, while FTIR spectra were related to residual C and N contents using partial least squares (PLS) regression. LLC, enriched in lignin, polyphenols and structural carbohydrates, decomposed slowly, whereas PM, characterized by higher labile C and N contents, showed faster C and N release. The two-pool model fitted the experimental data well (R2 = 0.876-0.995), with PM showing higher labile pools and decay rates than LLC. Internal cross-validation showed material- and element-dependent PLS performance: for C, Q2 values were 0.88 for PM and 0.98 for LLC, whereas for N they were 0.98 for PM and 0.68 for LLC. Spectral associations suggested that depletion of polysaccharide (1030-1160 cm-1) and aliphatic (2920-2850 cm-1) bands was linked to labile C losses, whereas aromatic (1600-1510 cm-1) and carbonyl (1740-1650 cm-1) regions were associated with the persistence of more resistant C and N fractions. Overall, FTIR coupled with PLS showed strong potential as a rapid and non-destructive approach for assessing residue quality and predicting decomposition trajectories under field conditions. However, the predictive performance demonstrated here should be interpreted within the context of the present experimental dataset, and independent external validation across a broader range of organic residues, soils, and climatic conditions is required before wider applicability can be established.
Keywords: Carbon, nitrogen, mass loss, FTIR, litter-bag, residue decomposition.
Author contributions: João Ricardo Sousa: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, and Methodology. Irene Fraga: Methodology and Investigation. Rupesh Kumar Singh: Validation, Visualization, and Writing – review and editing. Abhishek Singh: Software and Supervision. Karen Ghazaryan: Conceptualization and Writing – review and editing. Vishnu D. Rajput: Visualization and Writing – review and editing. João Coutinho: Project administration and Resources. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was supported by national funds through FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Projects UID/04033/2025, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/04033/2025), and LA/P/0126/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0126/2020). Support from the Higher Education and Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia under Grant No. 25IRF/2-4C002 for A.S. and Grant No. 24FP-4C013 for K.G. is also gratefully acknowledged.
Data availability statement : The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Declaration of competing interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Ethics approval: Ethics approval was not required for this study.
Acknowledgements: Vishnu D. Rajput acknowledge the support from the Priority 2030 programme implemented at Southern Federal University.
Use of artificial intelligence: No AI tool was used for language editing or translation.
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Sousa, J., Fraga, I., Singh, R., Singh, A., Ghazaryan, K., Rajput, V., Coutinho, J., 2026. FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions. Eurasian J. Soil Sci. DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
Citation Styles
CLASSICAL
Sousa, J., Fraga, I., Singh, R., Singh, A., Ghazaryan, K., Rajput, V., Coutinho, J., 2026. FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions. Eurasian J. Soil Sci. DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
APA
Sousa, J., Fraga, I., Singh, R., Singh, A., Ghazaryan, K., Rajput, V., & Coutinho, J. (2026). FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions Eurasian Journal of Soil Science, DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
MLA
Sousa, J., Fraga, I., Singh, R., Singh, A., Ghazaryan, K., Rajput, V., and Coutinho, J. "FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions" Eurasian Journal of Soil Science, (2026) DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
TURABIAN
Sousa, J., Fraga, I., Singh, R., Singh, A., Ghazaryan, K., Rajput, V., and Coutinho, J. "FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions" Eurasian Journal of Soil Science, DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
IEEE
J. Sousa., I. Fraga., R. Singh., A. Singh., K. Ghazaryan., V. Rajput., J. Coutinho. "FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions" Eurasian J. Soil Sci., vol. , no. , pp. DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
ISO690
SOUSA, João Ricardo ; FRAGA, Irene ; SINGH, Rupesh Kumar ; SINGH, Abhishek ; GHAZARYAN, Karen ; RAJPUT, Vishnu D. ; COUTINHO, João FTIR spectroscopy for predicting carbon and nitrogen release from contrasting organic materials under field conditions. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science,.DOI : 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
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Publication Information
- Article first published online: 06 Ekim 2026
- Manuscript Accepted: 14 Eylül 2026
- Manuscript Received: 12 Mayıs 2026
- DOI: 10.18393/ejss.2027.16.1.054.067
- Stable URL: https://ejss.fesss.org/manuscript.php?id=4666
