Holden, Maliea; Richardson, Spencer; Chilom, Gabriela (Dixie State University)
Faculty Advisor: Chilom, Gabriela (Dixie State University, Physical Sciences)
Humic acids are a key component of the terrestrial ecosystem as they are responsible for many physical and chemical properties of soils; buffering capacity, metal-binding capacity, transport and fate of contaminants, stability of aggregates of soil particles and water-holding capacity all depend on the amount and nature of humic substances in a soil.
The current project is looking into the properties and ability of humic acids extracted from leaves, to improve the stability and fertility of a mineral soil. The humic acid was extracted from fresh and aerobically incubated leaves by traditional alkali extraction. Three species of trees commonly grown in St George, Utah were selected: Prunus x Cistena, Pyrus Calleryana Bradford, and Chilopsis Linearis. The extracts were characterized by the amount and nature of their carbon content as determined by IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Their properties showed similarities and differences with humic acid extracted from mineral soil and leonardite.