CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A NATURAL SOIL LEACHATE FROM A HUMIC PODZOL

Abstract

A leachate, collected in the field in a lysimeter placed between the Ae and Bhf horizon of a Humic Podzol in Newfoundland, was analyzed by chemical and spectroscopic methods.About 87% of the dry, ash-free weight of the leachate was fulvic acid, the remainder consisting mainly of polysaccharides and nitrogenous compounds. A comparison of the analytical characteristics of the purified leachate with those of extracted and purified Podzol Bh fulvic acid showed that the main structural features of the two materials were very similar. Judging from its high contents of oxygen-containing functional groups and from its water solubility, the organic matter in the leachate had all the characteristics of an efficient metal–complexing agent, capable of playing a significant role in metal–organic matter interactions in soils.An organic matter–silica sediment was isolated from the leachate, consisting of 47.6% organic matter and of 52.4% of almost pure SiO₂∙nH₂O. The organic matter in the sediment accounted for about 10% of the organic matter in the leachate. The isolation of the sediment suggests that investigations on interactions between compounds of silicon and humic substances deserve greater attention than they have so far received.