Effect of land use on organic matter composition in density fractions of contrasting soils: A comparative study using 13C NMR and DRIFT spectroscopy

13C CP-MAS nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopies were compared for evaluating their potential to characterise the influence of land use change on organic carbon (OC) chemistry of particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral associated OM (MOM) fractions of different soil types. Surface soil samples of Ferralsol, Luvisol, Vertisol and Solonetz were collected from native and crop lands and isolated into different density fractions. NMR and DRIFT showed distinct OC composition for all the soil fractions of two land uses. In NMR spectra, greater proportion of carbohydrate and aromatic C was observed in POM, while MOM fractions were rich in carbohydrate, amino groups and aliphatic C. DRIFT spectra showed greater carboxylic, aromatic C and amide N in MOM than corresponding POM. NMR spectroscopy detected charred aromatic C in both fractions, which was not feasible with DRIFT. The overall effect of land use in both techniques appeared similar on the composition of POM- OC, i.e., increased aromaticity and decreased alkyl C:O-alkyl C ratio. However, differences of land use impact were observed in MOM-OC, e.g., overall decreased aromaticity and increased alkyl C:O-alkyl C for all soils in NMR, and in DRIFT, it varied with soil type (aromaticity: Ferralsol, Vertisol > Luvisol, Solonetz). However, these trends were inconsistent and indistinct among fractions of four soils. Discrepancy in NMR and DRIFT results was ascribed to the sensitivity limitations of the two techniques in characterising soil OM in mineral rich fractions, and sample pre-treatment effect in NMR. We conclude that combination of NMR and DRIFT spectroscopy, preferably supplemented by other techniques e.g., mass spectroscopy and XPS, would improve the proficiency in elucidating small changes in soil OM composition with land use conversion. [Display omitted] •NMR spectroscopy detected charred C in soil fractions, but DRIFT could not.•C composition variation trend was inconsistent among organic matter (OM) fractions•C chemistry in NMR & DRIFT: mostly varied (due to land use) for mineral associated OM•Both techniques had sensitivity limitation in characterising soil (mineral rich) OM•Combining NMR & DRIFT can improve their ability in elucidating soil OM composition