Humic substances (HSs) are the high organic polymers that derived from humicification of organism of soils. Humic substances are greatly affected by vegetation. The objective of the study was to compare the humic acids (HAs) under grassland and forest soils of subalpine area. The surface soils (0-15 cm) were collected, and humic acids were extracted, isolated and purified by International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) methods. Humic acids were determined using elemental analyzer, solid-state 13C-NMR spectroscopy and FTIR. Organic carbon and nitrogen contents of forest surface soils were higher than grassland. The main composition of HAs were the compounds that decomposed by microrganism. The contents of different functional groups of HAs show the following trend: Alkyl-C>O-Alkyl-C>N-Alkyl-C, Aromatic-C>Carboxyl-C>Acetal-C>Phenolic-C. The C/N atomic ratio of HAs under forest (30.59) was greater than grassland (18.15), which means the slow rate of decomposition of forest, however, the balance of decomposition was achieved of the grassland. Therefore, the degree of humification of soils was grassland>forest.
Humic substances (HSs) are the high organic polymers that derived from humicification of organism of soils. Humic substances are greatly affected by vegetation. The objective of the study was to compare the humic acids (HAs) under grassland and forest soils of subalpine area. The surface soils (0-15 cm) were collected, and humic acids were extracted, isolated and purified by International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) methods. Humic acids were determined using elemental analyzer, solid-state 13C-NMR spectroscopy and FTIR. Organic carbon and nitrogen contents of forest surface soils were higher than grassland. The main composition of HAs were the compounds that decomposed by microrganism. The contents of different functional groups of HAs show the following trend: Alkyl-C>O-Alkyl-C>N-Alkyl-C, Aromatic-C>Carboxyl-C>Acetal-C>Phenolic-C. The C/N atomic ratio of HAs under forest (30.59) was greater than grassland (18.15), which means the slow rate of decomposition of forest, however, the balance of decomposition was achieved of the grassland. Therefore, the degree of humification of soils was grassland>forest.