Abstract
THE mechanism whereby organic matter, especially the protein moieties, is protected from rapid and complete break-down in soils is not fully understood. The interaction of clay minerals and organic materials with a resultant attenuation in breakdown of these substrates has been reported by a number of workers1. These proposed clay–organic complexes have much to commend them, but they fail to account for a core of resistant organic matter also found in soils which are low in clay minerals. This core of organic matter appears to be either a mixture or a chemical union of lignin-like materials and proteins.
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References
Lynch, D. L., and Cotnoir, L. J., Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., 20, 367 (1956). Pinck, L. A., Dyal, R. S., and Allison, E., Soil Sci., 78, 109 (1954).
Waksman, S. A., and Iyer, K. R. N., J. Wash. Acad. Sci., 22, 41 (1932); Soil Sci., 34, 43 (1932). Jensen, H. L., J. Agric. Sci., 19, 71 (1929). Estermann, E. F., and McLaren, A. D., Agronomy Abstracts (1957).
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LYNCH, D., LYNCH, C. Resistance of Protein–Lignin Complexes, Lignins and Humic Acids to Microbial Attack. Nature 181, 1478–1479 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811478a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811478a0
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