Efficiency of diethylaminoethyl cellulose in the isolation of dissolved organic matter from forest soil solutions

Diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE cellulose), a weak anion exchange resin, has been used to isolate dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soil solutions collected from three different soil types, to investigate the amount of DOM isolated from soil solutions of various origin, and the extent to which inorganic ions are isolated together with DOM. The concentration of DOM in the various soil solutions ranged from 2.5 to 32.8 mg.L-1 DOC. More than 80% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was usually isolated with DEAE cellulose. High concentrations of aluminum (Al) and sulfate (SO42-) in the soil solutions have reduced DOC recovery. More than 90% of potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), and magnesium (Mg2+), were removed during the isolation procedure, but 10 to 20% of Al and 30 to 40% of iron (Fe) were isolated together with the DOC, probably due to strong complexation to DOM. The advantages of using DEAE cellulose were that the use of strong acids and bases was limited and that pH adjustments of the sample, leading to chemical modification of DOM, was not required.