Short communication on "Differentiating with fluorescence spectroscopy the sources of dissolved organic matter in soils subjected to drying" [Zsolnay et al. Chemosphere 38, 45-50, 1999]

Susanne Halbedel; Peter Herzsprung

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124818

Short communication on "Differentiating with fluorescence spectroscopy the sources of dissolved organic matter in soils subjected to drying" [Zsolnay et al. Chemosphere 38, 45-50, 1999]

Chemosphere. 2020 Jan:239:124818. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124818. Epub 2019 Sep 12.

Authors

Susanne Halbedel¹, Peter Herzsprung²

Affiliations

¹ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Brückstrasse 3a, D-39114, Magdeburg, Germany; Zur Aue 7, 38855, Wernigerode, Germany. Electronic address: susanne.halbedel@gmx.de.
² Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Brückstrasse 3a, D-39114, Magdeburg, Germany.

PMID: 31527002
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124818

Abstract

This article is a short, but very important comment to the often used humification index (HIX), assumed to indicate the degree of biochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter in water samples. HIX is commonly calculated by dividing the fluorescence intensity detected at longer wave lengths by the intensity detected at shorter wavelengths. However, we found typos in the original article that affect the used equation directly and thus the results. We compared the different ways to calculate HIX and found a strong correlation between all results. Nevertheless, we recommend to use only equation 1, especially if data from different studies should be compared.

Keywords: Dissolved organic matter; HIX; Humification index.

MeSH terms

Desiccation
Fluorescence
Organic Chemicals / analysis*
Soil / chemistry*
Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods*
Truth Disclosure*
Water / chemistry

Substances

Organic Chemicals
Soil
Water