Humic substances are well known for their long-term persistence in soil environments. The relationship between the mean residence times (MRT) and characteristics of humic substances extracted from a soil with highorganic matter (OM) content in Taiwan was investigated. The MRTs of the soil organic matter (SOM) and its humic substances extracted from the soil samples taken from three depths (0–20, 40–60, and 70–150 cm) of a soil profile were determined by 14C-dating procedures. Moreover, the humic substances were subjected to elemental analysis and investigation by electron spin resonance (ESR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR) spectroscopies. The ranges of the MRT of fulvic acids (FA) (MW < 1000), FA (MW > 1000), humic acid (HA) (MW > 1000), and humins (MW > 1000) were 143 ± 110 to 1740 ± 60, 213 ± 120 to 1690 ± 200, 253 ± 60 to 2200 ± 40, and 293 ± 40 to 2173 ± 70 yr, respectively. The higher standard deviations of the means of determined MRTs of FA (MW < 1000) and FAs (MW > 1000) may be due to their lability. Further, the MRTs of the FAs (MW < 1000), FAs (MW > 1000), HAs (MW > 1000), and humins (MW > 1000) increased with increasing soil profile depth, indicating the slow biological and chemical degradations of humic substances in the deeper layers. The elemental composition and spectroscopic properties of FTIR, 13C NMR, and ESR of humic substances did not change significantly with their MRTs. The MRTs in the range observed in this study were apparently long enough to render humic substances a high degree of chemical stability. Key words: Humic substances, mean residence times, ESR, FTIR, 13C NMR, humin

The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and related humic acids (HAs) extracted from the soils of field plots were investigated after 8 years of annual paddy (Oryza sativa L.) and upland maize (Zea mays L.) rotation with various fertilizations. Seven fertilization treatments were selected: Ck (no inputs); Chem (chemical fertilizer of NPK); Comp (swine compost); Comp + 33% of Chem N rate; Comp + 67% of Chem N rate; GM (legume green manure) + 33% of Chem N rate; and peat + 33% of Chem N rate. Organic and inorganic nitrogen inputs of six treatments were equivalent with respect of nitrogen content, but Comp, GM, and peat treatments were complemented with various amounts of inorganic N. After harvest of the eighth paddy crop, surface soil samples collected from the plots were subjected to soil characterizations and extraction of humic substances, which were used for chemical, spectroscopic (FTIR, 13C NMR, ESR, X-ray diffractometry), delta13C, and 14C dating analyses. The yields of HAs extracted from the seven treatments were significantly different. Treatment containing persistent organic compound such as the peat + 33% N treatment increased the humification process in topsoils and produced higher yield of HA. Spectroscopic analyses revealed that fertilization treatments changed the functional groups, alkyl C, crystalline characteristics, and delta13C ratios of HAs and turnover rate of SOC considerably. The SOC of the peat + 33% N treatment had the highest mean residence time of 3100 years. Various fertilizer treatments are correlated with turnover rate of SOC and related HAs, which are associated with concerned carbon sequestration as well as mitigation of CO2 emission in the soil environment.