Humic substances of surface waters : Litter and soil throughflow relationships in two forested ecosystems

Humic substances were isolated from the vegetation throughfall, soil drainage waters and adjacent stream waters at two forested sites in the Central Region of Scotland. Fractionation on XAD-8 hydrophobic resin gave three humic substance components and one hydrophilic acid fraction. Norway spruce generally gave 2–3 times more dissolved organic carbon in the litter drainage compared with Sitka spruce, although there was little qualitative difference in organic acidity between the two litterflows. The humic substances in the drainage at ca. 1 m depth (BC horizon) showed considerable differences between sites, reflecting the types of soils and sources of soil water. Phenolic acids released on hydrolysis confirm the differences between sites and may indicate the sources of subsoil water and their relationships with the stream outputs.