The spectroscopic characterization of humic substances in soil has been widely used. However, few studies have been carried out concerning the pedology of tropical soils using such technique. Humic acids (HA) extracted from contrasting horizons of a Red Yellow Latosol and a Podzol, on the highlands of the Serra do Brigadeiro, Araponga, Minas Gerais, were characterized by means of Fourier Transformed Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy (FTIR) and TD analysis. The spectra indicated qualitative differences between the HA extracted from differing soils, and also between HA extracted from different horizons in a given soil. The peaks associated with aliphatic structures showed decreasing intensity with soil depth, and there were evident polissacaride-related peaks in the organic horizons. Mineral impurities could be detected in all HA spectra of non-purified samples. The HF-HCl treatment was efficient in removing of these mineral impurities, with the differential spectra between purified and non-purified HA revealing the presence of caolinite and gibbsite. After the HA purification, an increase in intensity for the peaks of carboxyl groups was observed, suggesting the role of such groups in the process of mineral-HA interaction. The TD analysis indicated a greater resistance to thermodegradation of the humic acid extracted from Podzol horizon Bhs, as compared to the humic acid extracted from Latosol horizon A. This agrees with the more aromatic fashion of the former, shown in the infrared spectrum analysis.
soil organic matter; pedogenesis; Serra do Brigadeiro