Brief: For practical purposes, Humic acid, Humus, and Soil Organic Matter (SOM) can all be used interchangeably when discussed in soil science; however, solubilized humic substances can take on enhanced characteristic based on the extraction process employed. When discussing humic substances, there are various terms thrown around by different groups: soil organic matter, humic acid, humus, humates, and…
Humic substances native to agricultural soils typically maintain at constant levels (humus decomposition and new formation are balanced); however, environmental factors can directly effect the amount of decomposition – leading to an overall decrease in soil organic matter. The main factors effecting decomposition of soil humic matter include the effects of vegetation, topography, parent material (minerals),…
Soil is a complex array of mineral material, air/water and organic matter. Organic matter itself is composed of three basic types: living organisms (microorganisms, earthworms, insects etc), recently dead (micro, plant, and animal), and very dead components (humic substances). There can be a wide range of organic content distribution among various soil types: “Organic matter…
Humic substances are present in all organic ecosystems: oceans, rivers, lakes, and top soils. Quantifying the amount of humic material present in these systems is essential for academic research and industrial applications, specifically agricultural soil management. Additionally, testing humic acid levels is essential for companies, like Ocean Agro LLC, who are marketing humic acid based…
This overview of soil testing covers soil organic matter (SOM), mineral analysis, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in detail. When managing soil fertility, these three metrics are essential for understanding the health of a soil. Additionally, Ocean Agro LLC is interested in these metrics as they have specific relevance to humic acid products and their…