Studies in tropical soils: IV. Organic transformations in soils, composts and peat

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Abstract
1. Waksman's simplified scheme of fractionation was used in attempts to trace the organic transformations occurring in some tropical samples of composts, soils and peats. 2. It was found that a useful partition of the nitrogenous substances into hydrolysable and resistant fractions could be effected by boiling with 5 per cent sulphuric acid for 6 hours. 3. Two profile layers of a black calcareous Trinidadian clay soil were compared with two horizons of a prairie soil examined by Waksman & Stevens. The surface layers of both soils were found to be similar in chemical characters, but the lower subsoil layers of the Trinidadian soil gave evidence of a more advanced and profound degree of organic decomposition. 4. Serial soil samples, taken from eight undisturbed natural profiles representative of humid tropical soil types occurring in Jamaica and Trinidad, were similarly examined.