Soil-lipids in cultural layers

Authors

• Sven Isaksson

Abstract

This paper deals with some aspects of the effects of human activities on soil-lipid composition. There are several ways to characterize or classify changes in soils due to the impact of human activities. Until recently, the organic part of the soil has been analysed as a total organic content only. The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the possibilities of further analysis, using experience from fields such as organic geochemistry and chromatography. Included are decomposition of organic matter in soil, turnover time in natural strata, effects of human activities such as agriculture, dwelling and food handling, and some examples from Vendel par., Uppland, Sweden.