Genesis of podzols on coastal dunes in southern Queensland .IV . Nature of the organic fraction as seen by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Abstract

The organic matter in the A, Bh, Bhs and Bs horizons from a number of profiles from a chronosequence of podzols spanning some 7x105 years was studied using solid state 13C n.m.r. spectroscopy. Organic matter was effectively concentrated without chemicals using a Spex mixer and sedimentation. Acid dithionite treatment of samples containing appreciable amounts of iron significantly improved the signal to noise ratio. Acid oxalate treatment had a lesser effect. The organic matter from the A horizon was highly aromatic but was low in carboxylic acids. In the B horizons, aromaticity decreased in the order Bh-Bhs-Bs and increased with the degree of profile development. Only in the Bh horizons of the older highly developed profiles did aromatic carbon exceed alkyl carbon. The 'core' structure of these materials appeared to be aromatic rings heavily substituted (>90%) with alkyl and carboxylic acid groups. The Bhs and Bs horizons contained substantial amounts of carboxylic acid substituted alkyls with structures similar to the polymaleic or hydroxy acid models. Sixty per cent of the organic matter removed with iron on dithionite treatment was found to be alkyl. The aromatic and alkyl dominated horizons can exist in close proximity, occurring less than 10 cm apart in the case of the giant pipey podzols. None of the current theories on podzol genesis can adequately explain the arrangement of organic and inorganic components found in these profiles and a revised model based on existing theories is proposed.