Prerequisites and susceptibility of humic acids to microbial utilization and transformation - a review

In the last decades, structural complexity and importance to natural environments of humic substances have been elucidated. Their persistence and/or susceptibility to biological decomposition, however, requires further research. Here we present a contribution on humic acids (HA) extracted by alkali...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archiv für Acker- und Pflanzenbau und Bodenkunde 2011-08, Vol.57 (5), p.445-454
Main Authors: Filip, Zdenek Karel, Bielek, Pavol, Demnerova, Katerina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acids
Alkalis
Carbon sources
Decomposition
Humic acids
humic substances
Magnesium
Metal complexes
Metals
microbial transformation
microbial utilization
Natural environment
Nitrogen sources
Reviews
Silicic acid
Soil
Soils
Transformation
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Summary:In the last decades, structural complexity and importance to natural environments of humic substances have been elucidated. Their persistence and/or susceptibility to biological decomposition, however, requires further research. Here we present a contribution on humic acids (HA) extracted by alkali from soils differing in metal contents. These compounds represent organic-mineral-metal complexes naturally occurring in soils. If exposed to microbial activities, especially in the absence of easily utilizable carbon and nitrogen sources, HA from arable soils with elevated metal contents or from a soil site near a magnesium re-working factory and heavily contaminated with this element, were found to support the microbial growth. Simultaneously, different structural transformations occurred in the HA. Furthermore, the FT-IR spectroscopic investigations indicated a loss in metal and silicate constituents from the HAs preparations.
ISSN:0365-0340
1476-3567
DOI:10.1080/03650340802172491