Humic Substances color all waters more or less brown. Their concentrations exceed all carbon of living organisms by at least one order of magnitude. Opposite to former paradigms, they participate in almost any metabolic pathway. They protect against UV-irradation, enable indirect photolysis and, thus, purify hazardous chemicals, they provide inorganic and organic nutrients, may form cryptic genes with DNA and dampen metabolic fluctuations. More recently they can increase adverse effects of hazardous chemicals and they can directly interfere with organisms. The book tries to relate effects to structural features.

Humic Substances color all waters more or less brown. Their concentrations exceed all carbon of living organisms by at least one order of magnitude. Opposite to former paradigms, they participate in almost any metabolic pathway. They protect against UV-irradation, enable indirect photolysis and, thus, purify hazardous chemicals, they provide inorganic and organic nutrients, may form cryptic genes with DNA and dampen metabolic fluctuations. More recently they can increase adverse effects of hazardous chemicals and they can directly interfere with organisms. The book tries to relate effects to structural features.

Humic substances occur in all kinds of aquatic systems, but are particularly important in northern, coniferous areas. They strongly modify the aquatic ecosystems and also constitute a major problem in the drinking water supply. This volume covers all aspects of aquatic humic substances, from their origin and chemical properties, their effects on light and nutrient regimes and biogeochemical cycling, to their role regarding organisms, productivity and food web organization from bacteria to fish. Special emphasis is paid to carbon cycling and food web organization in humic lakes, but aspects of marine carbon cycling related to humus are treated as well.

The first comprehensive account of these important environmental interactions, this book describes the binding reactions, how they can be mathematically modelled, and how this knowledge is used to interpret environmental phenomena in soils, waters and sediments. A valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, environmental scientists, ecologists and geochemists.

Humic substances, the remarkable brown biomaterials in animals, coals, plants, sediments, soils and waters, are crucial components of the carbon cycle and other life processes. Thus greater knowledge and understanding of these versatile materials is of great importance to the productivity, health and safety of the world's ecosystems, humans, land and water. Presenting the best and most recent research in this important area, this book focuses on the molecular and chemical aspects of humic substances, with sophisticated analytical, chemical and physical techniques providing vital information. Areas covered include spectroscopy, modelling, mobility, properties and analysis of humic substances. Humic Substances: Structures, Models and Functions will be welcomed by researchers and professionals in academia, industry and government agencies worldwide, particularly where the science of humic substances finds applications, such as environmental remediation and sustainable agriculture.

This book is about humic and fulvic acids, two types of organic substances which are increasingly becoming popular in agriculture and organic farming. In this book, the authors study and reveal their research on humic substances and the different aspects related to their formation. Other chapters include recent research on GRSP (Glomalin Related Soil Protein) and its relation to different kinds of fluorescent substances, including fulvic acid-like and humic acid-like substances. The last two chapters of the book explore humic acids and their ability to interfere in molecular ecological studies as well as the various methods one could use to measure the humic acids' concentration in soil-extracted nucleic acids. Finally, this book presents an in-depth look at the role of humic materials in the dispersion of radioactive contaminants in the environment, the latter of which are some of the most broadly circulated substances on the earth's surface, occurring in soils, rivers, lakes and seas.

Overviews of the source, supply and variability of DOM, surveys of the processes that mediate inputs to microbial food webs, and syntheses consolidating research findings provide a comprehensive review of what is known of DOM in freshwater. This book will be important to anyone interested in understanding the fundamental factors associated with DOM that control aquatic ecosystems."--BOOK JACKET.