The use of appropriate amendments derived fromtwo phase olivemillwastes (TPOMW)can represent a suitable
option to maintain and restore C levels in agricultural soils under Mediterranean climates.We evaluated soil organic
matter stabilisation pathways among different humic pools in a Calcaric Cambisol amended with 2%
(40 Mg ha−1) of TPOMWcomposting mixtures of different composition and at different degrees of stabilisation:
starting mixture, after 14 weeks of composting (thermophilic stage) and after 30 weeks (mature compost).
Non-humified soil organic C and two different fractions of humic acids (HA), namely free HA (biochemically
stabilised) and bound HA (biochemically and chemically stabilised) were obtained by sequential extraction
with NaOH and alkaline Na4P2O7 after 90 and 150-days incubation. HA were characterised by thermal analysis,
size exclusion chromatography (HPLC-SEC), FTIR and 13C CPMAS-TOSS NMR. Amendments promoted incorporation
of altered lignin structures, carbohydrate moieties and N-containing compounds into free HA and to a lesser
extent into the bound HA, and increased the proportion of highMWfractions. There was an average increase of
40% for non-humic C in the free C fraction even after 90 days of incubation under optimum conditions for
mineralisation. Augmentation of bound C resulted in an average increase of about 0.7 Mg ha−1 of humic C in
amended soils. This increase is important as it contributes to one of the more inert soil C pools and could represent
a useful indicator for soil C stabilisation.
