Feller Christian auteur aut IRD Brossard Michel auteur aut IRD Chen Y. auteur aut IRD Landa E. R. auteur aut IRD Trichet J. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Organic matter in general, and humic substances (HS) in particular, are involved in many processes in soils, sediments, rocks and natural waters. These include rock weathering, plant nutrition, pH buffering, trace metal mobility and toxicity, bioavailability, degradation and transport of hydrophobic organic chemicals, formation of disinfection by-products during water treatment, heterotrophic production in blackwater ecosystems and, more generally, the global carbon cycle. Before the 1970s, natural organic matter of different ecosystem pools (i.e., soils, sediments, and natural waters) was often studied in isolation, although many similarities exist between them. This is particularly so for HS. In this historical context, a need appeared at the international level for bringing together environmental chemists, soil scientists, hydrologists, and geologists who were interested in HS to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, to standardize analytical procedures and agree on definitions of HS. The International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) was founded in Denver, Colorado (USA) in 1981 with several objectives among them "to bring together scientists in the coal, soil, and water sciences with interests in humic substances" (home page of the IHSS web site: http://ihss.gatech.edu/ihss2/index.html). This paper presents selected pioneering works on humus in soils and sediments during the 20th century with a special focus on the links between the studies of soil HS and the formation, during early diagenesis, of the precursors of kerogens. Temporal coverage includes key contributions preceding the founding of the IHSS, and a brief history of the organization is presented. specialized Humic substances Soil Sediment Organic geochemistry 068 064 35 15-18 903-912 2010 1474-7065 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010053366 10.1016/j.pce.2010.10.004 1474-7065 [F B010053366] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010053366 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2011/03/010053366.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2011-04-07 2017-08-23 fdi:010053366 fre