Abstract:
Humic and fulvic acids (HA and FA) extracted from evergreen, semi-evergreen and
moist deciduous forests, and plantations of teak, eucalypt and rubber soils belonging to red
ferrallitic type of Kerala were quantified and characterised by UV and IR spectroscopies. The HA
and FA conlenis were relatively higher in the natural forests. They differed significantly between
vegetational types and varied in chemical composition. The IR spectra of HA and FA were very
weak and their aliphatic groups were lower in eucalypt soils.