This article reports the design of 13 C-dating, the first method to calculate the relative age ofmolecular substance homologues occurring in fractions from the same soil sample. Soil is a major carbon pool impacting modern climate by CO2 release and uptake.Molecular substances that sequester carbon in soils are poorly known due to the absence of methodsto study molecular-level C dynamics over a...

The type and amount of organic matter present in industrially contaminated soils will influence the risk they pose. Previous studies have shown the importance of humic and fulvic acids (FAs) (important components of soil organic matter) in increasing the solubility of toxic metals but were not carried out using toxic metal levels and the pH range typical of industrially contaminated soils. This...

The fate of the widely used lawn care herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) during the composting of yard trimmings consisting of primarily leaves and grass is an important unexplored question. In this study, we determined the extent of 2,4-D mineralization, incorporation into humic matter, volatilization, and sorption during the composting of yard trimmings. Yard trimmings (2:1 [wt/...

Following the discovery of Kossel and Weiss (1) that many of the constituent amino acids are racemized when proteins are hydrolyzed by alkali, the use of alkaline hydrolysis in the analysis of proteins has been limited to the determination of amino acids which are unstable in strong acid. There is little information available as to the extent and completeness of hydrolysis as a function of [OH-...

Sludge applications have been used to maintain fertility of agricultural soils without damaging the natural ecosystem. The aim of this study was evaluating the influence of sewage-sludge addition on the quality of organic matter (OM) of a Brazilian Oxisol by Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF). LIF was used to analyze OM of whole soil and different soil fractions separated by chemical and physical...

Humic substances, such as those listed in the above title, play a vital role in soil fertility and plant nutrition. Plants grown on soils which contain adequate humin, humic adds (HAs), and fulvic adds (FAs) are less subject to stress, are healthier, produce higher yields; and the nutritional quality of harvested foods and feeds are superior. The value of humic substances in soil fertility and ...