Microbial degradation humus

Martin, J. R, and Haider, K. (1980). Microbial degradation and stabilization of 14C-labeled lignins, phenols, and phenolic polymers in relation to soil humus formation In Lignin Biodegradation Microbiology Chemistry and Potential Applications, Vol. II. Kent-Kirk, T., Higuchi, T., and Chang, H., eds., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 77-100. 

Humus is an amorphous, hydrophillic, acidic, partly aromatic, generally dark colored, and structurally complex material, resulting from the microbial degradation of plant detritus. Humus can be further classified as follows (a) humic acids a fraction that is soluble in alkali but precipitates on acidification of the solution, (b) fulvic acids a fraction that remains in solution after the extraction is acidified, and (c) humin a fraction that cannot be extracted by either alkali or acid (see Chapter 5 for details). 

This is not the complete explanation for the stability of adsorbed, high molecular weight humus molecules. Once formed, these complexes are very stable against microbial degradation and leading, and it is suggested that complex humus molecules are bonded at many points to the flexible chain-like structures that have been proposed by Wada [1967]. 

Anaerobic microbes in the presence of water in the landfill will consume these natural products and produce methane, CO2 and humus. One study reported the average composition of 20 year old refuse to be 33 % paper, 22% ash and 12% wood [18]. Thirty core samples revealed a wide range of degradation and microbial activity that were directly attributed to sample moisture content. Recovered polyethylene degradation was evaluated and determined to be as high as 54 %. 

Anaerobic conditions often develop in hydrocarbon-contaminated subsurface sites due to rapid aerobic biodegradation rates and limited supply of oxygen. In the absence of O, oxidized forms or natural organic materials, such as humic substances, are used by microorganisms as electron acceptors. Because many sites polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons are depleted of oxygen, alternative degradation pathways under anaerobic conditions tend to develop. Cervantes et al. (2001) tested the possibility of microbially mediated mineralization of toluene by quinones and humus as terminal electron acceptors. Anaerobic microbial oxidation of toluene to CO, coupled to humus respiration, was demonstrated by use of enriched anaerobic sediments (e.g., from the Amsterdam petroleum harbor). Natural humic acids and... 

Based on detailed analyses of the chemical nature of SOM, Hatcher and Spiker (1988) have extended this humification model to include other resistant biopolymers, including plant cutin and suberin, and microbial melanins and paraffinic macromolecules. During decomposition, these biopolymers are selectively preserved and modified to become part of what can be operationally defined as humin (acid and alkali insoluble component of humus) (Hatcher and Spiker, 1988 Rice, 2001). The humin becomes progressively enriched in acidic groups leading to the formation of first humic acids and then fulvic acids, which under this degradative scheme of SOM formation would be regarded as the most humified of humic substances (Stevenson, 1994). 

As plant tissues senesce and die, three processes may ensue almost simultaneously. First, enzymes within the dead but sterile and physically intact cells cause proteolysis and other autolytic degradations. The released amino acids, sugars, tannins, phenols, and quinones may be oxidized by chemical or enzymatic catalysis to produce humus-like pigments, or proto-humus as discussed by Stevenson in Chapter 2. This was well illustrated by Cohen (Given and Dickinson, 1975) who observed cellular material of partially polymerized eaco-anthocyanins in residues of Rhizophora mangle deposited in a mangrove swamp in Florida. The autolytic reactions may be prominent in situations where microbial decomposition is slow due to acidity, anaerobiosis, or lack of basic nutrients. 

The plants take it up by roots and leaves, and it has a high persistence in humus-rich soil in cool climates, with a half-life of 2 to 5 months. Microorganisms in soil degrade isoproturon, which can be used selectively in various cereal crops, and half-lives of 6 to 28 days have been reported under field conditions, depending on the microbial activity. The aliphatic substitution in the aryl ring is sensitive to microbial oxidative attack. 

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