Extraction of Nonstructural Carbon and Cellulose from Wood for Radiocarbon Analysis

[Abstract] This method aims at isolating nonstructural organic carbon (NSC) pools, i.e. soluble sugars and starch, from wood for radiocarbon ( 14 C) analysis at natural abundance levels (≤1 ppt) . Pools are operationally defined to 1) physically isolate pools - prohibiting the use of destructive methods, such as compound-specific enzyme digestion, and 2) minimize possible contamination with extraneous carbon form organic solvents.