Effect Of Soil Nitrogen Availability On The Phenolic Profile Of Soils Invaded By Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica)

Japanese Knotweed is an aggressive rhizomatous invasive species that alters its soil’s chemistry. Phenolic compounds play an important role in the plant’s aggressiveness. By breaking down the soil into separate fractions, we can determined the percentage of phenols held by each bond – free, ester, and ether. To do this, Japanese knotweed plants were collected from the Musser Form Research Farm at Clemson University. This included samples of nitrogen treated, untreated, and unaffected soils. Samples were subjected to a series of base hydrolyses at increasing temperatures to break the strong bonds. The samples were then derivatized and analyzed using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. The phenolic compounds in the samples were identified using respective standards and their percentages were calculated. The percentages of similar compounds of the different samples were analyzed and compared between the treatments and fractions. Upon analysis, it was found that there is a higher concentration of ester bound phenols in nitrogen rich soil. More ether bound phenols were found in nitrogen deficient soil. Moving forward, scientists can use these findings to devise methods to restrict the soil composition of invasive species