Soil archives: From the fundamental concepts to the ecosystemic management New approaches in Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and lipidic molecular biomarker studies: the results of GESSOL-APOGEE program

Abstract

Soil archives, like historical and sedimentary archives, allow past dynamics of ecosystems to be reconstructed and their current functioning to be understood. In this article, we first remind the principal specifics of soil archives, and then present two methodological approaches which were developed in the framework of the GESSOL-APOGEE program: qualitative near infrared spectroscopy and molecular plant biomarkers.

These approaches are illustrated using three case studies.

Keywords

• archaeopedology
• soil organic matter
• soil archives
• palaeoenvironments
• near infrared spectroscopy
• molecular biomarkers
• (palaeo)ecosystems