NO problems of soil science have proved more difficult than those concerning the nature and functions of soil humus. The early work of Sprengel and Berzelius yielded a long list of humic and other ...
Humus is highly recalcitrant, and this resistance to decomposition leads to a long residence time in soil. Plant debris is less recalcitrant, resulting in a much shorter residence time in soil.
Organic matter improves the soil by providing nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and sulfur for plants, while also preventing the loss of these nutrients. It consists of dead and partly decomposed ...
Therefore, the stability of boreal soils is critical to understanding global carbon cycle feedbacks to climate change and soil management. However, the regulating factors of humus carbon sequestration ...
A worm burrows its way through the dark earth, ingesting particles of soil and expelling nutrient-rich casts in a constant forage for food. Charles Darwin described earthworms as one of the most ...