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Micro-Raman spectroscopy parameters investigating biochar's carbon stability and structural development in comparison to fusinite and semifusinite

Metadata Updated: January 22, 2026

Semifusinite and fusinite macerals are formed through carbonization of plant material in naturally occurring wildfires. Both macerals, belonging to the inertinite maceral group, are carbon-rich and oxygen-poor, and are typical constituents of charcoal. The charring of plant material into charcoal serves as nature’s method for storing carbon over geological timescales. The permanence and stability of carbon in biochar formed by pyrolysis of biomass are determined by its degree of carbonization, and long-term storage in soil assumes that the biomass has been completely transformed into inertinite biochar. Inertinite biochar is thought to have a structural composition comparable to natural fusinite, whereas less carbonized and less stable biochar is similar to semifusinite. In this study, micro-Raman spectroscopy was employed to examine the structural composition of 16 biochar samples produced at different temperatures from various lignocellulosic feedstocks, as well as one natural semifusinite isolated from a coal deposit. The estimated carbonization temperatures, representing the actual internal heating temperatures experienced by the biomass, ranged from 326–825 °C. The micro-Raman results of the biochar samples included in this data release were compared with previously published micro-Raman data on semifusinite and fusinite.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 22, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 22, 2026
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_67605e6dd34e03058f220795
Data Last Modified 2025-02-03T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Datagov Dedupe Retained 20260122035920
Harvest Object Id b8b200a3-fde8-49c2-90f4-dce0fb99944f
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -127.0000, 24.0000, -127.0000, 50.0000, 120.0000, 50.0000, 120.0000, 24.0000, -127.0000, 24.0000}
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 09fd0f188d85c66c05fcd31966c031e74201be6cffc26131dfb9034000649f63
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -127.0000, 24.0000, -127.0000, 50.0000, 120.0000, 50.0000, 120.0000, 24.0000, -127.0000, 24.0000}

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