Humic substances

What are Humic Substances?

HOW DID THEY APPEAR ON OUR PLANET?

Humic substances are complex organic compounds that are naturally present in soils, peat, oceans, and freshwater. They are formed from the decomposition and transformation of plant and animal residues over long periods of time through microbial and chemical processes.

Humic substances are generally divided into three main fractions based on their solubility: humic acids, fulvic acids, and humin. Here's a brief description of each:

Humic Acids: These are the larger molecules that are insoluble in water at acidic pH but become soluble at higher pH levels. Humic acids are dark-colored and contribute to the dark color of soil organic matter. They play important roles in soil structure, nutrient retention, and microbial activity.
Fulvic Acids: Fulvic acids are smaller molecules compared to humic acids and are soluble in both acidic and alkaline conditions. They are typically yellow to light brown in color and are more mobile in soils and aquatic environments. Fulvic acids are involved in nutrient transport, metal chelation, and can enhance plant growth.
Humin: Humin is the fraction of humic substances that is insoluble in both acidic and alkaline conditions. It consists of very large and complex molecules that are resistant to microbial degradation. Humin contributes to soil structure and stability.

Humic substances are known for their beneficial effects on soil fertility, plant growth, and environmental health. They can improve soil structure, increase nutrient availability to plants, promote microbial activity, and enhance water retention capacity in soils. Additionally, humic substances can help in mitigating the effects of environmental stresses on plants and contribute to overall soil health and sustainability.

What are Humic Substances?

Humic substances, including humic acids, fulvic acids, and humin, have appeared on our planet through a natural process involving the decomposition and transformation of organic matter over millions of years.

Here's a general explanation of how they formed:

Organic Matter Accumulation: Over geological time scales, plant and animal residues (such as leaves, wood, roots, and animal remains) accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Microbial Decomposition: Microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, play a key role in breaking down this organic matter through processes like decomposition and decay. This process releases carbon-containing compounds into the environment.
Chemical Transformation: As organic matter decomposes, various chemical reactions occur under specific environmental conditions (such as temperature, pH, and oxygen availability). These reactions lead to the formation of humic substances.
Humification Process: Humification is the process by which complex organic molecules are transformed into humic substances. During humification, simpler organic molecules are polymerized and condensed into larger, more complex structures characteristic of humic substances.
Environmental Factors: Factors such as climate, soil type, vegetation, and water chemistry influence the type and composition of humic substances formed. For example, different conditions in peat bogs, soils, and marine sediments lead to variations in the properties of humic substances.

Overall, humic substances are the result of a long-term natural process involving the decomposition, microbial activity, and chemical transformation of organic matter in Earth's ecosystems. They are widespread in soils, sediments, and water bodies, contributing to essential functions in nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and environmental stability

How did they appear on our planet?

This function involves accumulation of chemical elements and energy necessary for living organisms. Practically, this means that humic substances are responsible for life support of soil and aquatic biota. Since these substances remain stable for a long time, they guarantee the continuous supply of energy and building materials to plants and microorganisms. It is not by chance that dark gray and black soils have traditionally been considered fertile and called (though not always correctly) chernozem (in Russian) or black soil. These are humic substances that impart the color to such soils.
It is responsible for generating geochemical flows of mineral and organic substances, mainly in aquatic environments, due to the formation of stable but relatively easily soluble complex compounds of humic acids with metal cations and hydroxides. The transport function conflicts to some extent with the accumulation function, since their results are directly opposite to each other. However, this inconsistency in action provides diverse effects of humic substances on mineral components of soils and rocks.
This function combines many different phenomena and processes and relates to soil, water, and other natural bodies. The regulatory function of humic substances can be divided into several key components:
* formation of structure and hydrophysical properties of soils (due to the 1st function);
** regulation of ion exchange reactions between solid and liquid phases (2nd function);
*** effect on acid-base and redox conditions;
**** regulation of nutritional conditions for living organisms by changing solubility of mineral components (combination of the 1st and 2nd functions);
***** regulation of thermal conditions of the soil and atmosphere, including greenhouse effects.
This function involves the ability of humic substances to bind toxic and radioactive elements, as well as compounds that adversely affect the natural environment into compounds that are immobile or difficult to dissociate. In particular, humic substances can incorporate some pesticides, carbohydrates and phenols. The protective function of humic substances is so great that soils rich in these substances can completely prevent ions of lead and other toxic substances from entering groundwater.
Many researchers have found that various humic substances, especially humic acids and their salts, can stimulate seed germination, enhance plant respiration, and increase the productivity of cattle and poultry. Moreover, some humic preparations have been shown to inhibit the growth of malignant tumors and increase the resistance of organisms to various inflammatory processes.
Preparations based on humic acids are used in crop production, horticulture, livestock farming, medicine, construction, drilling, environment protection, land reclamation and restoration.

The Most Important Functions of Humates:

Humic acids have a variety of actions: they activate bioenergetic processes, stimulate metabolism and synthetic processes, improve the absorption of nutrients through plasma membrane, strengthen enzymatic systems and enhance adaptive properties of a living organism.
Due to their complexation ability and sorption activity, humic acids can be used for converting heavy metals into insoluble compounds on soils contaminated by these metals.

Leonardites are organic materials that have not reached the coal stage yet. They differ from lignite by its higher degree of oxidation in the coalification process (moor > peat > coal), a higher humic acid content and a higher number of carboxyl groups.

Commercial production of Leonardite has dramatically increased since the discovery of high levels of humic acid in the lignite coal bed. Leonardites are the result of a humification process that lasted up to 70 million years. Unlike other organic sources of humic acid, Leonardites are highly bioactive due to their molecular structure – up to five times more than common humus components. Thus, one kilogram of Leonardite corresponds to about five kilograms of other organic humic acid sources. Leonardite is not a fertilizer. It acts as soil conditioner, biocatalyst and biostimulant for plants. In comparison to other organic products, Leonardite particularly promotes plant growth (biomass production) and soil fertility.

Another advantage of Leonardite is its long-term effect. It is degraded more slowly than, for example, manure, compost or peat, because it contains more organic matter that is also more resistant to decomposers.

Brown coal is a fossil fuel, a fossil coal of the second phase of metamorphism (an intermediate link between lignite and bituminous coal), produced from lignite or directly from peat. There are soft, earthy, dull, lignite and hard varieties of this coal. In terms of material composition, the overwhelming majority of brown coals are classified as huminites. It consists of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and many other minor components.

In a prehistoric grass or peat bog, plants took carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and used solar energy to produce biomass. In turn, these plants were consumed by insects and vertebrates. The carbon contained in dead plants and animals was being returned to the natural environment and settled at the bottom of bogs. Over millions of years, organic matter has been accumulated and compressed to form layered deposits in the Earth's crust.

Applications of Humates:

CROP FARMING

Humates make plants more resistant to frost and drought. Humates are most effective for crops with a poorly developed root system, such as spring wheat, barley, oats, rice, buckwheat, and potatoes. Development of the root system stimulates the absorption of moisture and oxygen by plants, as well as soil nutrition. When applied in the root system, the preparation promotes the synthesis of amino acids, sugars, vitamins, and organic acids. It increases metabolism between roots and soil. Organic acids released by roots (coal, malic, etc.) strongly influence the soil, increasing the availability of nutrients and trace elements.

LIVESTOCK BREEDING

The use of humates accelerates the growth, reduces morbidity and increases the animal body's resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Due to their wide range of biological activities, humic preparations inhibit the growth and development of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, mold), thereby protecting animals and birds from toxic byproducts produced during their activities. Humates improve feed digestibility. Therefore, they contribute to digestion and availability of trace elements and nutrients. As a result, humic preparations significantly increase body weight gain in animals and strengthen their immune system, making them more resistant to various diseases and adverse environmental conditions, as well as to negative effects of toxic substances in feeds.

SOIL RESTORATION

Humates are used to improve the quality of problematic soil types, such as clay and sandy soils. Humic acid makes clay soils less compact and better drained, thereby certainly increasing crop yields. One of the great advantages of using humic acid with sandy soils is its ability to slow down evaporation of water. Humic acid increases water retention in sandy soils and, therefore, significantly reduces evaporation and improves its availability for plants

MEDICAL SCIENCE AND COSMETOLOGY

Humic acids are used in some medicines that increase the body's resistance to various adverse factors. Preparations with humic acids have high antibacterial activity. Polyphenolic compositions based on humic substances have been found to have antimutagenic and antiviral effects.

For cosmetic purposes, salts of humic acids are used in sprays, facial masks, peloids, scrubs, creams, and lotions. Products containing humic substances strongly inhibit oxidation, restore collagen levels, improve skin elasticity and firmness, strengthen the hair structure, and stimulate hair growth and renewal.