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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #73526
Title: SOIL ORGANIC MATTER AND ITS ROLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Author
item KINGERY, WILLIAM - MS STATE UNIV.
item Clapp, Charles

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/3/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil organic matter can be described as both a substance and a process. Its role in environmental quality derives primarily from these two features of its nature, namely, its chemical composition and reactivity in soils and its biogeochemical relation to the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere. Chemical composition and reactivity of soil organic matter is governed to a alarge extent by the constituents and environment under which it is formed and the kinds and quantity of soil minerals with which it is associated. Much of the physico-chemical behavior of a soil is due to interdependent organo-mineral complexes. Soil organic matter also exerts an influence on environmental quality through its role as an integrant in global biogeochemical cycles, especially that of carbon, which dictate the fluxes of contaminants through global ecosystems. These aspects will be discussed with regard to their relation to environmental soil mineralogy.