Nature, properties and function of aluminum–humus complexes in volcanic soils

Andosols (or Andisols) possess several distinctive properties that are rarely found in other groups of soils. These properties are largely due to the dominance of short-range-ordered minerals (allophane, imogolite and ferrihydrite) and/or metal–humus complexes (Al/Fe–humus complexes) in their colloidal fraction. While several papers have extensively reviewed the nature and properties of short-range-ordered minerals, there is no comprehensive...