The lignin content in virgin and cultivated peat soils of Belarussian poles’e

Abstract

The contents of lignin extracted by a mixture of dioxane, water, and hydrochloric acid was determined in peat-forming plants (moss, herbaceous, and woody) corresponding to types of peat, cultivated and virgin peat soils, and stubby barley residues. The balance experiments in the field and in the laboratory over 12–36 months showed that, upon the decomposition of the peat-forming plants, the part of lignin available for microorganisms was humified and mineralized, while the unavailable part accumulated in the peat. A close correlation was revealed between the lignin content in the peat-forming plants and the humic acid concentration in the peat. Upon agricultural use, the lignin content in the plow horizons of the peat soils did not change if the degree of the peat decomposition was identical to that in the virgin soils or if it was higher by 2–2.5% if the peat decomposition rate increased.