RESISTANT ULTRALAMINAE IN SOILS

Observation of a chemically resistant organic residue from maize crop soils by transmission electron microscopy reveals the occurrence of th in laminae with 10-50 nn thickness, similar to resistant, highly aliph atic biopolymers found in kerogens and microbes. This discovery shows evidence for a novel and alternative mode of formation of soil organic matter by selective preservation of resistant biopolymers from soil m icrobes, in addition to the classical recondensation pathway proposed by the French chemist Maillard in 1917. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.