Abstract

Soil samples collected from the little Andaman Forest Division were analysed for their humus composition. The study revealed that unlike the soil of tropical dry decidu- ous forests the soil of these tropical evergreen forests have lignin rich humus in their surface horizons. The content of resistant carbon and nitrogen is also maximum in surface horizons. The composition of humus indicates predominance of humic acids over fulvic acids with very high Cha/Cfa ratio similar to Chestnuts and Chernozems of Eastern Siharia. The aromatic nature of the surface humic substances along with their tendency towards coagulation in aqueous medium makes the soil more favourable for the plant growth.

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