While terpenoids occur widely in nature, only very recently
have they been considered as precursors of natural organic
matter (NOM). Terpenoids were earlier proposed to be
incorporated into soil humus based on infrared spectral
comparisons (Stepen and Korsunova, 1988). In 2003, Leenheer
et al. (2003) provided cross polarization magic angle spinning
(CPMAS) 13C NMR spectroscopic evidence of terpenoid
precursor contribution to six dissolved organic matter (DOM)
fractions derived from each of a river, a lake and its infiltrated