Vol. 4, Issue 2, Part A (2022)

Humic substances, the major fractions (nearly 85%) of organic matter, constituting humic (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) extracted from soils of different land use patterns viz., agriculture, forest, fallow, pasture, salt affected, horticulture and agroforestry land under varied agroclimatic zones of western Maharashtra (India) were evaluated for their individuality and properties through E4/E6 ratio and total acidity. Higher degree of aromaticity of HA was evidenced by lower E4/E6 ratio than FA in all the LUP. Soils from fallow land showed lower total acidity than forest. The distinctiveness of humic substances was influenced by land use management and climatic parameters (temperature and rainfall).