Abstract: | Interactions between soil humic substances and metal ions I. Isolation and characterization of the soil humic substances From two horizons of a podzol humic acids and fulvic acids were isolated by two different methods. The obtained samples were characterized by elemental analysis, the determination of the ash and moisture content, functional group analysis as well as FTIR-, 1H-NMR-, and 13C-NMR-spectroscopic examinations. In spite of the different isolation methods humic and fulvic acids show great similarities. A higher oxidized state and a lower content of aromatic structural features are clearly observed in the fulvic acids in contrast to humic acids. Besides aromatic structural elements, distinct aliphatic sections were detected in the investigated samples, which showed a lower concentration in the less transformed fractions of the Ahe-horizon. |