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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Soil humic acids formation and characteristics in a xeric mollisol reforested with two tree species

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Publisher Summary The study discussed in this chapter examines the influence on humic acids (HAs) characteristics of different plant species—Pinus halepensis Miller and Cedrus atlantica (Endl) Carriere—used in the restoration of a Mollisol under xeric conditions. The area studied is in Sicily (Italy), and two stands were compared 40 years after planting. The differences among soil profile developments in the two stands were investigated by chemical and biochemical methods to understand the different levels at which the processes of pedogenesis acted in the study area. The chapter analyzes some chemical and spectroscopic characteristics of HAs, separated from two selected pedons. The results showed that the evolution of soils differed under the two tree stands, both in the formation of different humus forms and in different C storage in the forest floors. The HA chemical composition showed differences in the interactions between HAs and inorganic matter in relation to the tree species and depth. Because the pedogenetic factors were the same for the two pedons and the HA extracting procedure adopted was the same for all samples, the data suggest a different role for the microflora and plant coverage in the soil profile evolution of the two stands, which could address the pedogenesis process.