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Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come from the feces and remains of organisms such as plants and animals . [ 1 ]
Microbial decomposition releases nitrogen compounds from dead organic matter in the soil, where plants, fungi, and bacteria compete for it. Some soil bacteria use organic nitrogen-containing compounds as a source of carbon, and release ammonium ions into the soil. This process is known as nitrogen mineralization.
A portion of organic matter is not mineralized and instead decomposed into stable organic matter that is denominated "humus". [1] The decomposition of organic compounds occurs at very different rates, depending on the nature of the compound. The ranking, from fast to slow rates, is: Sugars, starches, and simple proteins; Proteins ...
Particulate organic matter (POM): is the organic matter that retains evidence of its original cellular structure, [18] and is discussed further in the next section. Humus: is usually the largest proportion of organic matter in soil, contributing 45 to 75%. Typically it adheres to soil minerals, and plays an important role structuring soil.
Biomass, living or dead biological matter, often plants grown as fuel; Biomass (ecology), the total mass of living matter in a given environment, or of a given species; Body fluid, any liquid originating from inside the bodies of living people; Cellular component, material and substances of which cells (and thus living organisms) are composed
Soils that are all organic matter, such as peat , are infertile. [156] In its earliest stage of decomposition, the original organic material is often called raw organic matter. The final stage of decomposition is called humus. In grassland, much of the organic matter added to the soil is from the deep, fibrous, grass root systems. By contrast ...
Once in the sediment, organic remineralisation may occur through a variety of reactions. [5] The following reactions are the primary ways in which organic matter is remineralised, in them general organic matter (OM) is often represented by the shorthand: (CH 2 O) 106 (NH 3) 16 (H 3 PO 4).
Humic substances represent the major part of organic matter in soil, peat, coal, and sediments, and are important components of dissolved natural organic matter (NOM) in lakes (especially dystrophic lakes), rivers, and sea water. Humic substances account for 50 – 90% of cation exchange capacity in soils.