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Pyrolysis‐(gas chromatography/) mass spectrometry of agricultural soils and their humic fractions
Author(s) -
Hempfling Reinhold,
Schulten HansRolf
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
zeitschrift für pflanzenernährung und bodenkunde
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 0044-3263
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.19911540606
Subject(s) - chemistry , pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , alkylbenzenes , mass spectrometry , pyrolysis , organic chemistry , gas chromatography , environmental chemistry , alkyl , gleysol , organic matter , soil water , chromatography , benzene , environmental science , soil science
Curie‐point pyrolysis‐gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and temperature‐programmed in‐source pyrolysis‐field ionization mass spectrometry have been used for the chemical characterization of the organic material in agricultural soils with organic carbon contents between 1 and 1.5%. The results obtained from whole‐soil samples, extractable humic substances and nonextractable humin by both techniques indicate for the Ap of a Gleysol thermal degradation products of carbohydrates, intact and/or biodegraded lignin, flavonoids, tannins and/or polyphenols, lipids, aliphatic polymers, and nitrogen‐containing compounds. On a qualitative basis similar results have been obtained for the Ap of a Luvisol. The alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes, (di)alkylphenols, and alkyltoluenes identified are of special interest because these aryl‐alkyl compounds demonstrate covalent linkages between aliphatic chains and aromatic subunits in soil organic matter. This type of linkage between individual subunits of the complex and polydisperse organic material enables the flexibility of rigid aromatic systems.