Humic Substances in the Global Environment and Implications on Human Health: Proceedings of the 6th International Meeting of the International Humic Substances Society, Monopoli, Italy, 20-25 September, 1992

This volume presents the Proceedings of the 6th intemational Meeting of the IHSS, held in Monopoli (Bari), Italy, September 20-25, 1992. Individual chapters are based on invited lectures and volunteered oral and poster papers that were presented at the Meeting. The invited articles provide an up-to-date, comprehensive and critical overview of the state of the art in different areas of the studies of humic substances. The volunteered articles present original results on the most recent advancements in the fundamental aspects of the chemistry and biochemistry of humic substances and their applications in agriculture, industry and medicine, and in the interactions of humic substances with environmental inorganic and organic species and organisms in soil, aquatic, and sedimentary systems.

Table of Contents:
N.B. Limitation of space allows only for a selection of papers to be listed. Preface. Section 1: Advances in the Chemistry and Biochemistry of Humic substances: Isolation, Characterization, Functions. Modern concepts on the origin and structure of terrestrial humic substances: the alkylaromatic network approach (C. Saiz-Jimenez). A tree-dimensional structural model for humic acids from oxidized soil (P.G. Hatcher et al.). Characterization of humic substances using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (C.T. Johnston et al.). Spectroscopic characteristics of derivatized humic acids from peat in relation to soil properties and plant growth (G. Almendros et al. ). 3 IP NMR studies of humic acid from a blanket peat (C.N. Bedrock et al). Polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis of humic substances fractionated by ultrafiltration (M. De Nobili, F. Fornasier). Infrared spectroscopy evidence of thermal decarboxylation in potassium salts of humic substances (A. Piccolo, F.J. Stevenson). Section 2: Humic Substances in Soil and Crop Production. Application of N- 1 5 NMR spectroscopy to the study of organic nitrogen and humic substances in the soil (C. Steelink). Humus concentration in Middle European arable soils affected by fertilisation and liming (J. Kubat, J. Lipavsky). The relation of mobile nitrogen functionality to humification indices of various humic substances (L. Hargitai). The biostimulant effect of different humic substance fractions on seed germination (J. Csicsor, J. Gerse, A. Titkos). The effect of mineral and organic fertilisation on properties of soil humic acids (S.S. Gonet, K.Wegner). Thermogravimetric study and 15N investigation of soil humic acids after intensive fertilisation (S. Kretschmann, H. Peschke). Effect of organic fertilisers on functional groups of humic acids in soil (M. Pujola, J. Sana). Section 3: Humic Substances in Aquatic and Sedimentary Systems. Alternative approaches in the study of humic substances in lacustrine and polluted environments (H. De Haan). Humic substances in the nitrogen cycle of polar waters. A comparison between the Arctic and Antarctic (R.J. Lara, G. Kattner). Distribution of organic matter in water and sediment in the Northern Baltic Sea (I. Makinen, E.-L. Poutanen, P. Manninen). Size of humic substances in aqueous solution studied by light scattering (N. Shinozuka, Y. Nihei). Section 4: Interactions of Humic Substances with Organic and Inorganic Xenobiotics and with Organisms. The role of natural organic matter in the dynamics of metals in forest soils (P. Blaser). The significance of interactions of humic substances and organisms in the environment (J.F. McCarthy, J. Strong-Gunderson, A.V. Palumbo). Chemical speciation and bioavailability of metal-humic complexes to plants (Y.M.. Nor). Heavy metal-humic acid interaction in a wooded environment of Southern Sardinia (G. Alberta et al.). The importance of soil organic matter buffering in soils subjected to acidic deposition