Evolution over years of structural characteristics of humic acids in Black Soil as a function of various fertilization treatments

Abstract

Humic substances are the relatively stable and recalcitrant pool of soil organic carbon in the agricultural system. Humic acid (HA) is an active part of soil humic substances. However, little information exists on how structural characteristics of HA evolved with fertilization years in Black Soil. Soil samples were collected in 1997, 2002, 2008, and 2012 from the Long-term Fertilization Station of Black Soil. The methods of 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, elemental composition analysis, and infrared spectroscopy were employed to analyze the structure of HA. Long-term fertilization had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on the ratio of O and S to C in HA. The ratio of H to C in HA increased with fertilization years after the application of organic manure (M) single or combined with chemical NPK fertilizers. The ratios of aliphatic C to aromatic C, and alkyl C to O-alkyl C in soil HA increased by 7.72% and 20.3%, respectively, in MNPK and M treatments, whereas NPK treatment declined the ratio of aliphatic C to aromatic C by 2.67% compared with CK treatment. The HA structure tends to become aliphatic and simplified with years of organic manure combined with NPK fertilizers. To save costs, organic manure was only applied once within the period of crop rotation and was combined with NPK every year to satisfy crop demands for soil nutrients.