Humus has a characteristic black or dark brown color and is an accumulation of organic carbon. Besides the three major soil horizons of (A) surface/topsoil, (B) subsoil, and (C) substratum, some soils have an organic horizon (O) on the very surface. Hard bedrock (R) is not in a strict sense soil.

In classical[1] soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Latin word for "earth" or "ground".[2]

In agriculture, "humus" sometimes also is used to describe mature or natural compost extracted from a woodland or other spontaneous source for use as a soil conditioner.[3] It is also used to describe a topsoil horizon that contains organic matter (humus type,[4] humus form,[5] or humus profile[6]).

Humus has many nutrients that improve the health of soil, nitrogen being the most important. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) of humus commonly ranges between eight and fifteen with the median being about twelve.[7] It also significantly affects the bulk density of soil. Humus is amorphous and lacks the "cellular structure characteristic of plants, micro-organisms or animals".[8]

Description

The primary material needed for the process of humification are plant materials. It is a material that belongs to the biosphere. The composition of humus varies dependent on the composition of the primary materials and the secondary microbial and animal products. The decomposition rate of the different compounds will affect the composition of the humus.[9]

It is difficult to define humus precisely because it is a very complex substance which is not fully understood. Humus is different from decomposing soil organic matter. The latter looks rough and has visible remains of the original plant or animal matter. Fully humified humus, on the contrary, has a uniformly dark, spongy, and jelly-like appearance, and is amorphous; it may gradually decay over several years or persist for millennia.[10] It has no determinate shape, structure, or quality. However, when examined under a microscope, humus may reveal tiny plant, animal, or microbial remains that have been mechanically, but not chemically, degraded.[11] This suggests an ambiguous boundary between humus and soil organic matter. While distinct, humus is an integral part of soil organic matter.[12]

The Australian CSIRO gives a description of humus in its publication “Organic Matter and Soils”, they describe fully formed humus as essentially a “polyglot collection of very large and complex molecules.” (The material has thus gone beyond being in any way “particulate”).

(These molecules) “are formed in part from lignin and other polyphenolic molecules of the original leaf in part from similar molecules that have been produced by microbes. During decomposition processes these polyphenols are modified chemically to polyquinones so that they are able to join up with one another to form very large molecules. Some parts of these molecules are modified in such a way that protein molecules, amino acids, and amino sugars are able to attach themselves to the polyphenol “base” molecule. As protein contains both nitrogen and sulfur, this attachment gives humus a moderate content of these two important plant nutrients.

Radiocarbon and other dating techniques have shown that the polyphenolic base of humus can be very old, but the protein attachments much younger. For example, one study showed an average age of 2560 years for the base part and only 510 years for the protein. It seems that microbes are able to pull protein off humus molecules rather more readily than they are able to break the polyphenolic base molecule itself. As protein is removed its place may be taken by younger protein, or this younger protein may attach itself to another part of the humus molecule.” (generally being a weak chelation bond).

The CSIRO publication describes the function of humus. “The most useful functions of humus are in improving soil structure and in providing a very large surface area that can hold nutrient elements until required by plants.” (The bond is also clearly strong enough to resist the nutrient elements dissolvable in rainwater but weak enough to have the nutrients available when required for plant life.)

Soil Carbon Sequestration is a constant variable in the soil. Only when it becomes stable molecular soil humus and acquires its multi-century permanence should it be considered to be of significance in removing the atmosphere’s current carbon dioxide overload.

There is little data available on the composition of forest humus because it is a complex mixture that is challenging for researchers to analyze. Researchers in the 1940s and 1960s tried using chemical separation to analyze plant and humic compounds in forest soil, but this proved impossible. Further research has been done in more recent years, though it remains an active field of study.[13][14][15]

Humification

Microorganisms decompose a large portion of the soil organic matter into inorganic minerals that the roots of plants can absorb as nutrients. This process is termed "mineralization". In this process, nitrogen (nitrogen cycle) and the other nutrients (nutrient cycle) in the decomposed organic matter are recycled. Depending on the conditions in which the decomposition occurs, a fraction of the organic matter does not mineralize and instead is transformed by a process called "humification". Prior to modern analytical methods, early evidence led scientists to believe that humification resulted in concatenations of organic polymer resistant to the action of microorganisms,[16] however recent research has demonstrated that microorganisms are capable of digesting humus.[17]

Humification can occur naturally in soil or artificially in the production of compost. Organic matter is humified by a combination of saprotrophic fungi, bacteria, microbes and animals such as earthworms, nematodes, protozoa, and arthropods.[18] Plant remains, including those that animals digested and excreted, contain organic compounds: sugars, starches, proteins, carbohydrates, lignins, waxes, resins, and organic acids. Decay in the soil begins with the decomposition of sugars and starches from carbohydrates, which decompose easily as detritivores initially invade the dead plant organs, while the remaining cellulose and lignin decompose more slowly.[19] Simple proteins, organic acids, starches, and sugars decompose rapidly, while crude proteins, fats, waxes, and resins remain relatively unchanged for longer periods of time. Lignin, which is quickly transformed by white-rot fungi,[20] is one of the primary precursors of humus,[21] together with by-products of microbial[22] and animal[23] activity. The humus produced by humification is thus a mixture of compounds and complex biological chemicals of plant, animal, or microbial origin that has many functions and benefits in soil. Some judge earthworm humus (vermicompost) to be the optimal organic manure.[24]

Stability

Much of the humus in most soils has persisted for more than 100 years, rather than having been decomposed into CO2, and can be regarded as stable; this organic matter has been protected from decomposition by microbial or enzyme action because it is hidden (occluded) inside small aggregates of soil particles, or tightly sorbed or complexed to clays.[25] Most humus that is not protected in this way is decomposed within 10 years and can be regarded as less stable or more labile. Stable humus contributes few plant-available nutrients in soil, but it helps maintain its physical structure.[26] A very stable form of humus is formed from the slow oxidation (redox) of soil carbon after the incorporation of finely powdered charcoal into the topsoil. This process is speculated to have been important in the formation of the unusually fertile Amazonian terra preta do Indio.[27] However, recent work[28] suggests that complex soil organic molecules may be much less stable than previously thought: “the available evidence does not support the formation of large-molecular-size and persistent ‘humic substances’ in soils. Instead, soil organic matter is a continuum of progressively decomposing organic compounds.″

Horizons

Humus has a characteristic black or dark brown color and is organic due to an accumulation of organic carbon. Soil scientists use the capital letters O, A, B, C, and E to identify the master horizons, and lowercase letters for distinctions of these horizons. Most soils have three major horizons: the surface horizon (A), the subsoil (B), and the substratum (C). Some soils have an organic horizon (O) on the surface, but this horizon can also be buried. The master horizon (E) is used for subsurface horizons that have significantly lost minerals (eluviation). Bedrock, which is not soil, uses the letter R.

Benefits of soil organic matter and humus

The importance of chemically stable humus is thought by some to be the fertility it provides to soils in both a physical and chemical sense,[29] though some agricultural experts put a greater focus on other features of it, such as its ability to suppress disease.[30] It helps the soil retain moisture[31] by increasing microporosity,[32] and encourages the formation of good soil structure.[33][34] The incorporation of oxygen into large organic molecular assemblages generates many active, negatively charged sites that bind to positively charged ions (cations) of plant nutrients, making them more available to the plant by way of ion exchange.[35] Humus allows soil organisms to feed and reproduce, and is often described as the "life-force" of the soil.[36][37]

  • The process that converts soil organic matter into humus feeds the population of microorganisms and other creatures in the soil, and thus maintains high and healthy levels of soil life.[36][37]
  • The rate at which soil organic matter is converted into humus promotes (when fast) or limits (when slow) the coexistence of plants, animals, and microorganisms in the soil.
  • Effective humus and stable humus are additional sources of nutrients for microbes: the former provides a readily available supply and the latter acts as a long term storage reservoir.
  • Decomposition of dead plant material causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized (lignin-like humus) or to decompose into simpler forms (sugars and amino sugars, and aliphatic and phenolic organic acids), which are further transformed into microbial biomass (microbial humus) or reorganized, and further oxidized, into humic assemblages (fulvic acids and humic acids), which bind to clay minerals and metal hydroxides. The ability of plants to absorb humic substances with their roots and metabolize them has been long debated. There is now a consensus that humus functions hormonally rather than simply nutritionally in plant physiology.[38][39]
  • Humus is a colloidal substance and increases the cation-exchange capacity of soil, hence its ability to store nutrients by chelation. While these nutrient cations are available to plants, they are held in the soil and prevented from being leached by rain or irrigation.[35]
  • Humus can hold the equivalent of 80–90% of its weight in moisture, and therefore increases the soil's capacity to withstand drought.[40][41]
  • The biochemical structure of humus enables it to moderate, i.e. buffer, excessive acidic or alkaline soil conditions.[42]
  • During humification, microbes secrete sticky, gum-like mucilages; these contribute to the crumby structure (tilth) of the soil by adhering particles together and allowing greater aeration of the soil.[43] Toxic substances such as heavy metals and excess nutrients can be chelated, i.e., bound to the organic molecules of humus, and so prevented from leaching away.[44]
  • The dark, usually brown or black, color of humus helps to warm cold soils in spring.
  • Humus can contribute to climate change mitigation through its carbon sequestration potential.[45] Artificial humic acid and artificial fulvic acid synthesized from agricultural litter, can increase the content of dissolved organic matter and total organic carbon in soil.[46]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Popkin, Gabriel (27 July 2021), A Soil-Science Revolution Upends Plans to Fight Climate Change, Quanta Magazine, "The latest edition of The Nature and Properties of Soils, published in 2016, cites Lehmann's 2015 paper and acknowledges that "our understanding of the nature and genesis of soil humus has advanced greatly since the turn of the century, requiring that some long-accepted concepts be revised or abandoned."
  2. ↑ "Humus". Retrieved 23 September 2008 – via Dictionary.com Random House Dictionary Unabridged.
  3. ↑ "Humus". Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  4. ↑ Chertov, O. G.; Kornarov, A. S.; Crocker, G.; Grace, P.; Klir, J.; Körschens, M.; Poulton, P. R.; Richter, D. (1997). "Simulating trends of soil organic carbon in seven long-term experiments using the SOMM model of the humus types". Geoderma. 81 (1–2): 121–135. Bibcode:1997Geode..81..121C. doi:10.1016/S0016-7061(97)00085-2.
  5. ↑ Baritz, R. (2003). Humus Forms in Forests of the Northern German Lowlands. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart.
  6. ↑ Bunting, B. T.; Lundberg, J. (1995). "The humus profile-concept, class and reality". Geoderma. 40 (1–2): 17–36. Bibcode:1987Geode..40...17B. doi:10.1016/0016-7061(87)90011-5.
  7. ↑ Weil, Ray R.; Brady, Nyle C. (2017). The Nature and Properties of Soils (15th ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Education (published April 2017). p. 536. ISBN 978-0-13-325448-8. LCCN 2016008568. OCLC 936004363.
  8. ↑ Whitehead, D. C.; Tinsley, J. (1963). "The biochemistry of humus formation". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 14 (12): 849–857. Bibcode:1963JSFA...14..849W. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740141201.
  9. ↑ Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid; Zech, Wolfgang; Hatcher, Patrick G. (1988). "Chemical composition of the organic matter in forest soils: The humus layer". Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde (in German). 151 (5): 331–340. doi:10.1002/jpln.19881510512.
  10. ↑ Di Giovanni, C.; Disnar, J. R.; Bichet, V.; Campy, M. (1998). "Sur la présence de matières organiques mésocénozoïques dans des humus actuels (bassin de Chaillexon, Doubs, France)". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série IIA (in French). 326 (8): 553–559. Bibcode:1998CRASE.326..553D. doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80206-1.
  11. ↑ Nicolas Bernier and Jean-François Ponge (1994). "Humus form dynamics during the sylvogenetic cycle in a mountain spruce forest" (PDF). Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 26 (2): 183–220. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.635.6402. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(94)90161-9.
  12. ↑ "Humintech® | Definition of Soil Organic Matter & Humic Acids Based Products". Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  13. ↑ Waksman SA. (1936). Humus. Origin, Chemical Composition and Importance in Nature. New York, NY: Williams and Wilkins
  14. ↑ Stevenson FJ. Humus Chemistry: Genesis, Composition, Reactions. (2nd). Wiley, 1994. ISBN 978-0-471-59474-1
  15. ↑ Maier RM. Chapter 16 - Biogeochemical Cycling. Environmental Microbiology (3rd). Academic Press, 2015. pp 339-373. ISBN 9780123946263 doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-394626-3.00016-8
  16. ↑ Weil, Ray R.; Brady, Nyle C. (2017). The Nature and Properties of Soils (15th ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Education (published April 2017). p. 549. ISBN 978-0-13-325448-8. LCCN 2016008568. OCLC 936004363. It is now thought that humic substances in soil extracts do not represent the nature of most of the organic matter as it exists in soil.
  17. ↑ Popkin, G. (2021). "A Soil-Science Revolution Upends Plans to Fight Climate Change". Quanta magazine. Soil researchers have concluded that even the largest, most complex molecules can be quickly devoured by soil's abundant and voracious microbes.
  18. ↑ Soil biology
  19. ↑ Berg, B.; McClaugherty, C. (2007). Plant Litter: Decomposition, Humus Formation, Carbon Sequestration (2nd ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-74922-6.
  20. ↑ Levin, L.; Forchiassin, F.; Ramos, A. M. (2002). "Copper induction of lignin-modifying enzymes in the white-rot fungus Trametes trogii". Mycologia. 94 (3): 377–383. doi:10.2307/3761771. JSTOR 3761771. PMID 21156508.
  21. ↑ González-Pérez, M.; Vidal Torrado, P.; Colnago, L. A.; Martin-Neto, L.; Otero, X. L.; Milori, D. M. B. P.; Haenel Gomes, F. (2008). "13C NMR and FTIR spectroscopy characterization of humic acids in spodosols under tropical rain forest in southeastern Brazil". Geoderma. 146 (3–4): 425–433. Bibcode:2008Geode.146..425G. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2008.06.018.
  22. ↑ Knicker, H.; Almendros, G.; González-Vila, F. J.; Lüdemann, H. D.; Martin, F. (1995). "13C and 15N NMR analysis of some fungal melanins in comparison with soil organic matter". Organic Geochemistry. 23 (11–12): 1023–1028. Bibcode:1995OrGeo..23.1023K. doi:10.1016/0146-6380(95)00094-1.
  23. ↑ Muscoloa, A.; Bovalob, F.; Gionfriddob, F.; Nardi, S. (1999). "Earthworm humic matter produces auxin-like effects on Daucus carota cell growth and nitrate metabolism". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 31 (9): 1303–1311. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00049-8.
  24. ↑ "Vermiculture/Vermicompost". Agri.And.Nic.in. Port Blair: Department of Agriculture, Andaman & Nicobar Administration. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  25. ↑ Dungait, J. A.; Hopkins, D. W.; Gregory, A. S.; Whitmore, A. P. (2012). "Soil organic matter turnover is governed by accessibility not recalcitrance" (PDF). Global Change Biology. 18 (6): 1781–1796. Bibcode:2012GCBio..18.1781D. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02665.x. S2CID 86741232. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  26. ↑ Oades, J. M. (1984). "Soil organic matter and structural stability: Mechanisms and implications for management". Plant and Soil. 76 (1–3): 319–337. doi:10.1007/BF02205590. S2CID 7195036.
  27. ↑ Lehmann, J.; Kern, D. C.; Glaser, B.; Woods, W. I. (2004). Amazonian Dark Earths: Origin, Properties, Management. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-1839-8.
  28. ↑ Lehmann, Johannes (1 December 2015). "The contentious nature of soil organic matter". Nature. 528 (7580): 60–68. Bibcode:2015Natur.528...60L. doi:10.1038/nature16069. PMID 26595271. S2CID 205246638. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  29. ↑ Hargitai, L. (1993). "The soil of organic matter content and humus quality in the maintenance of soil fertility and in environmental protection". Landscape and Urban Planning. 27 (2–4): 161–167. doi:10.1016/0169-2046(93)90044-E.
  30. ↑ Hoitink, H. A.; Fahy, P. C. (1986). "Basic for the control of soilborne plant pathogens with composts". Annual Review of Phytopathology. 24: 93–114. doi:10.1146/annurev.py.24.090186.000521.
  31. ↑ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Abiotic factor. Encyclopedia of Earth. eds Emily Monosson and C. Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment Archived 8 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Washington DC
  32. ↑ De Macedo, J. R.; Do Amaral, Meneguelli; Ottoni, T. B.; Araujo, Jorge Araújo; de Sousa Lima, J. (2002). "Estimation of field capacity and moisture retention based on regression analysis involving chemical and physical properties in Alfisols and Ultisols of the state of Rio de Janeiro". Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 33 (13–14): 2037–2055. doi:10.1081/CSS-120005747. S2CID 98466747.
  33. ↑ Hempfling, R.; Schulten, H. R.; Horn, R. (1990). "Relevance of humus composition to the physical/mechanical stability of agricultural soils: a study by direct pyrolysis-mass spectrometry". Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. 17 (3): 275–281. doi:10.1016/0165-2370(90)85016-G.
  34. ↑ Soil Development: Soil Properties Archived 28 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  35. 1 2 Szalay, A. (1964). "Cation exchange properties of humic acids and their importance in the geochemical enrichment of UO2++ and other cations". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 28 (10): 1605–1614. Bibcode:1964GeCoA..28.1605S. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(64)90009-2.
  36. 1 2 Elo, S.; Maunuksela, L.; Salkinoja-Salonen, M.; Smolander, A.; Haahtela, K. (2006). "Humus bacteria of Norway spruce stands: plant growth promoting properties and birch, red fescue and alder colonizing capacity". FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 31 (2): 143–152. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2000.tb00679.x. PMID 10640667.
  37. 1 2 Vreeken-Buijs, M. J.; Hassink, J.; Brussaard, L. (1998). "Relationships of soil microarthropod biomass with organic matter and pore size distribution in soils under different land use". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 30: 97–106. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(97)00064-3.
  38. ↑ Eyheraguibel, B.; Silvestrea, J. Morard (2008). "Effects of humic substances derived from organic waste enhancement on the growth and mineral nutrition of maize" (PDF). Bioresource Technology. 99 (10): 4206–4212. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2007.08.082. PMID 17962015.
  39. ↑ Zandonadi, D. B.; Santos, M. P.; Busato, J. G.; Peres, L. E. P.; Façanha, A. R. (2013). "Plant physiology as affected by humified organic matter". Theoretical and Experimental Plant Physiology. 25: 13–25. doi:10.1590/S2197-00252013000100003.
  40. ↑ Olness, A.; Archer, D. (2005). "Effect of organic carbon on available water in soil". Soil Science. 170 (2): 90–101. Bibcode:2005SoilS.170...90O. doi:10.1097/00010694-200502000-00002. S2CID 95336837.
  41. ↑ Effect of Organic Carbon on Available Water in Soil : Soil Science
  42. ↑ Kikuchi, R. (2004). "Deacidification effect of the litter layer on forest soil during snowmelt runoff: laboratory experiment and its basic formularization for simulation modeling". Chemosphere. 54 (8): 1163–1169. Bibcode:2004Chmsp..54.1163K. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2003.10.025. PMID 14664845.
  43. ↑ Caesar-Tonthat, T. C. (2002). "Soil binding properties of mucilage produced by a basidiomycete fungus in a model system". Mycological Research (Submitted manuscript). 106 (8): 930–937. doi:10.1017/S0953756202006330.
  44. ↑ Huang, D. L.; Zeng, G. M.; Feng, C. L.; Hu, S.; Jiang, X. Y.; Tang, L.; Su, F. F.; Zhang, Y.; Zeng, W.; Liu, H. L. (2008). "Degradation of lead-contaminated lignocellulosic waste by Phanerochaete chrysosporium and the reduction of lead toxicity". Environmental Science and Technology. 42 (13): 4946–4951. Bibcode:2008EnST...42.4946H. doi:10.1021/es800072c. PMID 18678031.
  45. ↑ Amelung, W.; Bossio, D.; de Vries, W.; Kögel-Knabner, I.; Lehmann, J.; Amundson, R.; Bol, R.; Collins, C.; Lal, R.; Leifeld, J.; Minasny, B. (27 October 2020). "Towards a global-scale soil climate mitigation strategy". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5427. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5427A. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18887-7. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7591914. PMID 33110065.
  46. ↑ Tang, Chunyu; Li, Yuelei; Song, Jingpeng; Antonietti, Markus; Yang, Fan (25 June 2021). "Artificial humic substances improve microbial activity for binding CO2". iScience. 24 (6): 102647. Bibcode:2021iSci...24j2647T. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102647. ISSN 2589-0042. PMC 8387571. PMID 34466779.
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