Organo-mineral complex status in soils. I. thermal analytical characteristics of humus in the soils

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Abstract
To analyse the status of organo-mineral complexes in soils, the thermal nature of sixty-two soil samples from different soil groups was studied by applying DTA and DTG methods. The thermal nature of the samples revealed the existence of two different organo-mineral complexes; one (complex-L) showed a lower temperature exothermic reaction at about 300°C and the other (complex-H), a higher temperature exothermic reaction at about 400–450°C. Their contents varied with the horizons and soils. Complex-L was found in every soil and its horizons, and complex-H, in the upper parts of the profiles only. It is suggested that plant-debris and inorganic soil materials have contributed to the formation of complex-H in the upper parts of the soil profiles, and that soluble humic substances and inorganic soil materials produced complex-L everywhere in the profiles.