Author : Michael Schilling
Publisher :
Page : 104 pages
File Size : 13,51 MB
Release : 2004
Category :
ISBN : 9780549022695
Soil organic matter (SOM) is the largest reservoir of organic carbon at the earth's surface. Its chemistry plays a crucial role in a wide range of issues including agricultural sustainability, pollution/contamination, and medicine. For instance, SOM is vital to soil fertility by affecting physical and chemical properties of soil and in controlling soil microbial activity by serving as a source for mineralizable C and N. Soil organic matter is also very influential in the transport and fate of organic and inorganic anthropogenic chemicals because of its heterogeneity and highly functionalized nature. Therefore, an understanding of SOM at the molecular level is a critical and worthwhile undertaking.