Published March 8, 2019
Journal of Environmental Quality
VIEWPOINTS ON THE FUTURE OF HUMIC SUBSTANCES RESEARCH
The Future of Humic Substances Research: Preface to a Debate
Henry Janzen*
Abstract
For centuries, scientists have been probing the nature and
dynamics of organic matter in soil and sediment. A prominent
approach in this research has been to extract humic substances
using a strong alkaline solution. The continuing merits of this
time-honored approach, however, has prompted some recent
debate. Does the study of humic substances, as defined by alkaline
extraction, still promise further advances in our understanding of
organic matter dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic systems? The
two articles in this special section offer divergent responses to
this question, providing a framework for enlightening discourse
that will help direct future research. Receptive reading of these
views will not only lead to clarity on a crucial issue but also offer
insight into how best to learn from potentially divisive questions
that will inevitably arise in the study of soil, a still mysterious
medium.
Copyright © American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and
Soil Science Society of America. 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA.
All rights reserved.
J. Environ. Qual. 48:205–206 (2019)
doi:10.2134/jeq2019.01.0001c
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Received 11 Oct. 2018.
Accepted 14 Feb. 2019.
*Corresponding author (henry.janzen@canada.ca).
205
SPECIAL SECTION
S cientists have been probing the nature and dynam-
ics of soil organic matter for centuries. As our collective
understanding of this complex constituent has evolved, we
have become ever more aware of its crucial, manifold roles in the
sustained functioning of soils and sediments. A long-running,
prominent focus in this unfolding science has been the charac-
terization of humic substances—“complex and heterogeneous
mixtures of polydispersed materials formed . . . by biochemical
and chemical reactions during the decay and transformation of
plant and microbial remains” (International Humic Substances
Society, 2018)—which impart to soils, water, and sediments
their characteristic dark color. In practice, humic substances have
often been defined by the way in which they have been isolated:
by extraction with a strong base. This approach has yielded an
impressive reservoir of scientific insights, creating a narrative that
has often dominated research into organic matter chemistry and
its ecological significance.
From time to time, however, questions have arisen about the
continued relevance and merits of the “humic substances” per-
spective, notably about the method used to isolate and define
them. Does extraction with strong alkaline solutions reliably
yield a material from which can be inferred the character and
dynamics of the intact humus? Is continued reliance on this time-
honored method still justified in light of emerging techniques
and insights? Does the “humic substances” paradigm, founded
on the alkaline extraction method, still promise to divulge cred-
ible new insights after all these decades?
Such questions merit our attention for two reasons. First, of
course, they help direct future research. Science must continually
(and sometimes ruthlessly) leave behind approaches and con-
cepts supplanted by deepening understanding or fresh avenues
of inquiry. At the same time, however, discarding an approach
prematurely may preclude new insights that would emerge and
disrupt the continuity of discovery. Second, perhaps less self-
evident, these questions provide a forum for resolving ambigui-
ties in soil science. They offer a chance not only to ask, Of what
further use is the alkaline extraction method? but also, How do
we as a community resolve, by illuminating scientific discourse,
conflicting views on how best to explore this most vexing, myste-
rious medium we call soil?
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 For these reasons, editors of the Journal of Environmental
Quality have invited two sets of authors (Kleber and Lehmann,
2019; Olk et al., 2019) to present divergent responses to the ques-
tion, Does the “humic substances” perspective, as defined using
alkaline extraction of soils and sediments, still promise meaning-
ful advances in our understanding of organic matter dynamics in
terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems? The two papers offer answers
not easily reconciled, reflecting the discordant, iterative process
of science at the edge of what we know. But in their disagree-
ment, these two papers have performed an invaluable service to
soil science. They articulate clearly and emphatically the authors’
best responses to this important question, as seen from their dif-
ferent vantages. In this way, they offer a foundational framework
for fruitful debate that will enlighten us all and help to spur and
direct future research. One day, perhaps, we will no longer debate
the question of humic acid extraction and, whatever the outcome
may be, will look back on these papers as milestones in the pur-
suit of clarity.
Readers of the Journal of Environmental Quality are invited
to ponder and weigh the two views presented in the papers that
follow, acknowledging in advance our inevitable biases, born of
training and research history. From such receptive reading can
206 Journal of Environmental Quality
emerge a respectful discourse about the prospective nature of
research into “humic substances,” a conversation that both honors
the scientific revelations of our predecessors and also embraces a
humble, forward-looking spirit of inquiry. The reward of such
thoughtful debates will be a clearer view of how best to eluci-
date and describe the critical, compelling dynamics of organic
matter in soil and soil-like media. And, just as important, they
will enlighten us on how best to learn from the potentially divi-
sive questions that are certain yet to arise in our science, given all
we do not yet know about the soil.
References
International Humic Substances Society. 2018. What are humic substances?
https://humic-substances.org/ (accessed 15 Feb. 2019).
Kleber, M., and J. Lehmann. 2019. Humic substances extracted by alkali are in-
valid proxies for the dynamics and functions of organic matter in terres-
trial and aquatic ecosystems. J. Environ. Qual. 48:207–216. doi:10.2134/
jeq2019.01.0036
Olk, D.C., P.R. Bloom, E.M. Perdue, Y. Chen, D.M. McKnight, A. Farenhorst,
N. Senesi, Y.-P. Chin, P. Schmitt-Koplin, N. Hertkorn, and M. Harir.
2019. Environmental and agricultural relevance of humic fractions extract-
ed by alkali from soils and natural waters. J. Environ. Qual. 48:217–232.
doi:10.2134/jeq2019.02.0041