Journal of Sustainable Forestry
ISSN: 1054-9811 (Print) 1540-756X (Online) Journal homepage: [Link]/journals/wjsf20
Extraction and Use of Humic Acid from Invasive
Alien Plant Species Originating from Toba Lake
and Forest Areas for Sustainable Plant Growth
and Reducing the Level of Water Pollution in Lake
Toba, Indonesia
Budi Utomo, Rizky Wahyudi, Samsuri & Mohammad Basyuni
To cite this article: Budi Utomo, Rizky Wahyudi, Samsuri & Mohammad Basyuni (2025)
Extraction and Use of Humic Acid from Invasive Alien Plant Species Originating from Toba
Lake and Forest Areas for Sustainable Plant Growth and Reducing the Level of Water
Pollution in Lake Toba, Indonesia, Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 44:7, 599-609, DOI:
10.1080/10549811.2025.2525587
To link to this article: [Link]
Published online: 30 Jun 2025.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 56
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
[Link]
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
2025, VOL. 44, NO. 7, 599–609
[Link]
Extraction and Use of Humic Acid from Invasive Alien Plant
Species Originating from Toba Lake and Forest Areas for
Sustainable Plant Growth and Reducing the Level of Water
Pollution in Lake Toba, Indonesia
Budi Utomo , Rizky Wahyudi , Samsuri , and Mohammad Basyuni
Department of Silviculture, Forestry Faculty University of North Sumatera, North Sumatera, Indonesia
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Forest degradation in Indonesia is quite high due to the high invasion Invasive weeds; humic acid;
of invasive plant species such as Eichornia crassipes and E. crassipes; A. inulaefolium
Austroeutopatorium inulaefolium. This research aimed to create SUSTAINABLE
humic acid derived from this invasive plant material to increase the DEVELOPMENT GOALS
productivity of farmers’ land who live close to forest areas and reduce SDG 15: Life on land
the level of humus theft from forest areas in Lake Toba. The research
was designed using a non-factorial, completely randomized design
with five treatments: control, pure chicken manure, and manure trea
ted with humic acid derived from commercial humic acid, humic acid
from E. crassipes, and humic acid from A. inulaefolium. The results
showed that the volume of humic acid formed was greater in
E. crassipes (90 l) compared to A. inulaefolium (78 l). The highest plant
growth response was found in the humic acid treatment derived from
E. crassipes, which increased plant height growth by 581.98%, stem
diameter by 231.53%, and leaf area by 589.20%. Present work suggests
the use of humic acid, both commercial humic acid and humic acid
made from E. crassipes and A. inulaefolium, significantly increases plant
growth when compared to the control or pure manure treatment.
Introduction
Indonesia’s natural forests contain a very high level of biodiversity, but there are still few
plant species from natural forests whose benefits are known to humans. There are still many
types of plants that have not been studied, and their benefits for human life are known.
Until now, Indonesia has been known as one of the countries with the best natural forests
on the face of the earth. This cannot be separated from the existence of regulations to
maintain the integrity of Indonesia’s natural forests. The state apparatus, in this case the
Ministry of Environment and Forestry and its staff, monitors and ensures that forest areas
are free from interference from human activities (Prusiner and Prions, 2023).
On the island of Sumatra, there are the Bukit Barisan Mountains, which stretch from the
border of Aceh Province to West Sumatra Province, which crosses North Sumatra Province.
To maintain environmental quality, the Bukit Barisan ridge area is designated as a protected
forest area. One of these protected forest areas is the Bukit Barisan Grand Forest Park. The
Bukit Barisan Grand Forest Park forest area is a mountain forest area with an area of
CONTACT Budi Utomo Budiutomo@[Link] Forestry Faculty University of North Sumatera, North Sumatera 20353,
Indonesia
© 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
600 B. UTOMO ET AL.
51,600 ha and is spread over 4 districts in North Sumatra Province, namely Karo Regency
(19,805 ha), Simalungun Regency (1,645 ha), Deli Serdang Regency (17,150 ha), and
Langkat Regency (13,000 ha). Almost all residents who live near this forest area work as
horticultural farmers. However, as time goes by, rapid population growth causes pressure
on forest areas to increase. Even though the community understands the meaning of forest
conservation, fulfilling their daily needs forces the community to carry out destruction,
especially in forest areas that border their agricultural land. Productive agricultural activities
result in farmers very high dependence on fertilizers. On the one hand, the price of chemical
fertilizers sold on the market is very high, thereby reducing farmers’ purchasing power to
buy chemical fertilizers. On the other hand, the issue of organic farming also encourages
farmers to fertilize organic materials on their agricultural land (Perdue, 2024). Organic
farming activities on agricultural land bordering forest areas make this area vulnerable to
humus theft activities. In meeting the fertilizer needs of their horticultural crops, farmers
strip, and steal humus from the forest floor, causing the trees in the forest from which the
humus is taken to grow to languish due to the disruption of the closed nutrient cycle that
has been going on for so long. Lack of in-situ nutritional intake causes forest trees to
gradually dry out, become infected with disease, or even die. On the other hand, the
widespread theft of humus from the forest floor has also unwittingly eliminated plant
seeds that have been stored and dormant as seed banks for a long time on the forest
floor. In this way, these community activities unwittingly contribute to reducing the
biodiversity of forest plants in the future (Piccolo et al., 2022).
Forest disturbances also often occur due to logging and theft of wood or natural causes
such as wind, storms, lightning, and disease, which cause tree death. Gaps opened by fallen
or dead trees are immediately filled by the rapid invasion of alien plant species, which
usually enter the area from agricultural land with the help of the wind. One of the fastest-
growing invasive plants that dominates forest areas is Austroeupatorium inulaefolium
(kirinyuh) (Prusiner & Prions, 2023). This invasive plant has now spread to almost all
open areas in the forest or forest edges bordering agricultural areas. This bush grows a lot
and dominates open areas in the forest because of its high growth capacity and adaptability.
This invasive alien plant species has now become a weed and is spreading in many forest
areas of the Bukit Barisan Forest Park in North Sumatra. This, of course, endangers the
sustainability of the standing population in the forest area.
Because of its rapid growth to dominate open areas, this plant inhibits and threatens the
forest regeneration process itself (Cozzi et al., 1993). The high wind speed in mountain
forest areas also accelerates the spread of this invasive plant. In the Gunung Gede
Pangrango National Park Forest area, this plant has been declared a nuisance plant that
suppresses natural forest regeneration. Until now, no action has been taken either by
forestry service officials or by related parties to eradicate this weed in forest areas, so its
spread continues on a massive scale. On the other hand, the use of invasive weeds into
useful products is still minimally researched.
Apart from the forest area, Bukit Barisan Forest Park in North Sumatra also stretches
the largest lake in Indonesia, namely Lake Toba. The lake, which has an area of 1,130
km2, is spread over 7 districts, namely Simalungun, Humbang Hasundutan, Samosir,
Toba, Karo, Dairi, and North Tapanuli. Almost the same as in forest areas, agricultural
activities around Lake Toba also contribute to invasive plants that pollute the Lake Toba
area. There are no less than 289 rivers that flow into this lake. This results in this lake
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 601
hosting various agents that have the potential to pollute Lake Toba. One of them is the
water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes). This aquatic plant spreads from rice fields and
reservoirs above the Lake Toba area and spreads quickly within the lake area. One water
hyacinth stem can grow an area of 1 m2 in 52 days, and within 1 year, it can cover an
area of 7 m2. You can imagine that a number of E. crassipes entered through rivers that
pass through the rice fields above this lake area. The spread of this plant is accelerated
by the waves and strong winds that often hit the Lake Toba area. In accordance with its
invasive nature, the growth of this plant is very fast, so it pollutes various areas of the
lake. Even though there has been a lot of research that has shown the benefits of
E. crassipes as a handicraft, because there are very few souvenir and handicraft makers
around the Lake Toba area, the use of this weed is very small compared to the speed of
its spread (Stempvoort & Lesage, 2022). On the other hand, >90% of the livelihood of
residents around the edge of Lake Toba is farming. Only a few percent of people work in
the tourism and fishing sectors. In the water environment of Lake Toba, apart from
causing the problem of lake water pollution, which contaminates the beauty of the lake’s
water surface, these plants also often interfere with the lake’s means of transportation,
become hosts of disease, and pollute the environment. The absence of efforts to clear
this weed by local residents has resulted in the massive development of this plant to
this day in the Lake Toba area. However, due to the lack of knowledge about the use of
this weed as an alternative fertilizer, this plant has not been noticed by farmers until
now. In fact, the high price of chemical fertilizers has resulted in a decrease in the
purchasing power of farmers to buy fertilizer in an effort to increase the productivity of
their agricultural products (Marova et al., 2021).
Therefore, seeing the high opportunity for using these weeds as organic fertilizer and
making humic acid, research on their use is now being encouraged. It is hoped that by
knowing the use of the weeds A. inulaefolium and E. crassipes as humic acid, which
functions as an alternative fertilizer and ameliorant for people’s agricultural land, a win–
win solution will be obtained. On the one hand, the activity of humus theft in forest areas
can be reduced, and the need for chemical fertilizers by farmers has decreased with the
discovery and production of humic acid from these two weeds. On the other hand, the
sustainability of the forest regeneration process can take place optimally because these
weeds can be harvested and eradicated in forest areas so that forests can develop without
interference from invasive alien plant species (Cheng et al., 2019).
Research to control this invasive plant as an alternative fertilizer has been carried out
by researchers in the last few years. The use of A. inulaefolium and E. crassipes to be
processed into humic acid will certainly be very helpful in controlling this pest plant.
Humic acid is very useful for improving the physical, chemical, and biological properties
of soil. The presence of humic acid is believed to be able to reduce the need for chemical
fertilizer by up to 80%, so that the chemical fertilizer given is only around 20% of the
normal dose. In this way, processing A. inulaefolium into humic acid is expected to
reduce public pressure regarding humus theft in forest areas. Likewise, the possibility of
using E. crassipes as a humic acid is expected to motivate farmers around the Lake Toba
water catchment area to use this plant as an ameliorant on their agricultural land. By
increasing soil productivity due to the application of humic acid, it is hoped that farmers
who live adjacent to forest areas will be able to manage their agricultural land optimally
and obtain high production (Müller et al., 2024). This study aimed to create humic acid
602 B. UTOMO ET AL.
derived from the invasive plant material (E. crassipes and A. inulaefolium) to increase
the productivity of farmers’ land who live close to forest areas and reduce the level of
humus theft from forest areas in Lake Toba.
Materials and methods
The research was carried out at the Silviculture Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry,
Universitas Sumatera Utara. This research began by first making humic acid from
E. crassipes and A. inulaefolium. Making humic acid takes 90 days until it is finally
used as organic fertilizer for plants. The plant used as an indicator plant is the rubber
plant (Hevea brasiliensis). The plants used were 8 months old or had an average height of
1 m (Mirza et al., 2021)
The humic acid used is humic acid, which comes from liquid humic acid, which is
available on the market as a comparison. Artificial humic acid is humic acid that comes
from the plants E. crassipes (a nuisance weed in the waters of Lake Toba) and
A. inulaefolium (a weed in mainland forests). This artificial humic acid is given in liquid
form according to the method of manufacture. The making of humic acid is done by mixing
50 kg each of E. crassipes and A. inulaefolium leaves into plastic drums with a capacity of
220 l, then filling them with 5 kg of rice bran, 1 kg of molasses, 10 kg of chicken manure, 2 l
of rice washing water, and 500 ml of M-21 starter (mycorba starter containing 21 types of
beneficial microorganisms) (Sposito & Weber, 1986). Next, the plastic drum is filled with
well water until it is almost full (leaving 10 cm for air space). Next, all materials are tightly
closed for 90 days. After 90 days, the remodeling process was complete, as indicated by
changes in aroma similar to the aroma of wine, shape, and color. After that, all the liquid is
transferred into a clean container, and the amount of humic acid formed is calculated. The
humic acid formed is separated from the solid organic material, and then the volume of this
humic acid is calculated to be used as a treatment material for research on the growth of
H. brasiliensis plants (Martini et al., 2020).
From the humic acid formed, take 4 l and mix it with 10 l of water, and then spray it
into the chicken manure until it is quite wet. Kendang fertilizer is used as a medium for
humic acid to make it easier to apply to plants. Next, the media containing humic acid is
air-dried to make it easier to apply to polybags containing treated plants (Wollina,
2019).
The research was designed using a non-factorial, completely randomized design with six
replications. The plant container uses a 15-kg polybag that has been filled with mineral soil
first. Next, 1 kg of chicken manure was given to each experimental unit treated with A0
(control), A1 (pure manure), A2 (commercial humic acid), A3 (humic acid from
A. inulaefolium), and A4 (humic acid from E. crassipes). The drum fertilizer used is chicken
drum fertilizer that has been fermented and cooked. This is shown by the manure no longer
smelling and not being hot (Pan et al., 2020).
Considering that the indicator plants used were trees, the research period was carried out
for 4 months. Observations were made every two weeks to see the development of the
plant’s response to the treatment given. The variables observed were the increase in plant
height (cm), stem diameter (mm), leaf area (cm2), shoot dry weight (g), root dry weight (g),
total plant dry weight (g), and plant root shoot ratio. A graph of plant height increases was
also made every 2 weeks for 4 months (Czyzewska-Szafran et al., 2023).
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 603
Results and discussions
Humid acid
The fermentation process for making humic acid takes 90 days. During this period, the
drum containing the humic acid mixture is tightly closed and must not be opened. From the
fermentation of humic acid sourced from E. crassipes and A. inulaefolium, fermentation
results are obtained as shown in Figure 1.
From Figure 1, it can be seen that the humic acid derived from E. crassipes is dark brown
with a color that tends to be even, while the humic acid made from A. inulaefolium is
brighter in color, namely light brown. These two products are produced after
a fermentation process for 90 days in a closed bucket.
The density and density of color allow for differences in influence on the benefits
of plant growth. The dark brown color produced by E. crassipes may be due to the
fact that this plant material consists of cellulose and hemicellulose tissue without
cambium because this plant does not have stems. This aquatic plant also tends not
to produce sap, so the color produced is more intense and even. In A. inulaefolium,
the color of the humic acid produced is brighter, a light brown, possibly because this
plant is a fast-growing plant with thin leaf tissue and has sap in the leaves and
stems, which allows it to produce a brighter-colored humic acid liquid (Pan et al.,
2020).
The high water content in the body tissue of E. crassipes allows more humic acid to be
produced compared to A. inulaefolium. This can be seen in Figure 2.
From Figure 2, it can be seen that the humic acid product formed in the E. crassipes
species is greater when compared to A. inulaefolium, namely 90 l compared to 78 l. This
may be related to differences in the basic plant materials themselves, which may have
different nutrients and lignin content. A. is soft and more easily decomposed than
A. inulaefolium. Every 4 l of humic acid is then dissolved in 10 l of well water and sprayed
into chicken manure until it is quite wet. This is so that the humic acid will be distributed
evenly and can function as an ameliorant while accelerating the solubility of the nutrients in
the manure itself (Chen & Stevenson, 2021).
Figure 1. The glass on the left is a humic acid product produced from E. crassipess, and the glass on the
right is a humic acid product derived from A. inulaefolium at a fermentation of 90 days.
604 B. UTOMO ET AL.
160 122
140
110
120
90 78
100
volume formed (l) 80
60
40
20
0
humic acid liquid fertilizer sludge
type of product
E. crassipes A. Inulaefolium
Figure 2. This type of product is formed from the fermentation of humic acid from E. crassipes and
A. inulaefolium.
Plant growth
Based on measurements made of stem diameter, plant height, and leaf area every 15 days
and plant growth for 4 months, after the data was tested using the 5% level Anova test,
significant differences were found (Table 1).
From Table 1 above, it can be seen that the use of humic acid significantly increased plant
growth in both plant height, stem diameter, and leaf area of H. brasiliensis at the age of 4
months after planting. A striking difference occurred when compared with controls who
were given nothing. In the manure treatment without humic acid, growth increased, but in
the humic acid treatment, including commercial humic acid, humic acid from E. crassipes,
and humic acid from A. inulaefolium, the increase in H. brasiliensis plant growth became
very significant (Lee et al., 2019). In the plant height parameter, the highest increase
occurred in the humic acid treatment of E. crassipes (25.84 cm) compared to the control
(4.44 cm), where the increase was 581.98%. Likewise, the stem diameter increased, namely
in E. crassipes (4.70 mm) compared to control (2.03 mm), which appeared to increase by
231.53%. Likewise, the leaf area parameter for E. crassipes (68.17 cm) and control (11.57 cm)
increased by 589.20% (Riede et al., 2022).
Leaf area measurements were taken from leaf samples that were completely open. Leaves
that are completely open mean that this organ can carry out its photosynthetic activities
Table 1. Growth parameters of H. brasiliensis plants aged 4 months after planting in the
screen house.
Treatment Plant height (cm) Stem diameter (mm) Leaf area (cm2)
A0 4.44a 2.03a 11.57a
A1 6.85b 2.67a 19.59b
A2 25.33cd 4.50b 65.84d
A3 25.84d 4.70b 68.17e
A4 22.01c 4.43b 63.58c
Description: A0 = control; A1 = pure chicken manure; A2 = commercial humic acid; A3 = humic acid from
E. crassipes; A4 = humic acid from A. inulaefolium. Numbers followed by the same letter in the same
column are not significantly different at the 5% level according to DMRT.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 605
optimally. Thus, the sample taken is the fifth leaf from the youngest leaf of the plant. From
Table 1, it can be seen that the application of pure manure significantly increased the leaf
area of H. brasiliensis compared to the control, namely an increase of 169.32%. However,
the use of humic acid resulted in an even higher leaf area. The highest leaf area was achieved
in plants that received humic acid treatment from E. crassipes, namely 589.20%. This
significant increase cannot be separated from the impact of humic acid, which improves
the soil, providing a more comfortable environment for plant roots to grow and develop.
The nutritional conditions that are available make it easier for plant roots to absorb
nutrients from the soil, thus giving the effect of faster plant growth as indicated by
maximum leaf area growth (Brzozowski et al., 2021).
The rate of increase in plant height growth can be seen in Figure 3. In this picture, it is
clear that the rapid increase in height growth of rubber plants can be seen with the use of
humic acid. It’s just that humic acid derived from A. inulaefolium provides a lower response
than other humic acids. However, the increase in growth remained significant when
compared to the control, which reached 495.72% (Lu et al., 2022). This achievement is
very encouraging, which means that invasive plants, which often disrupt the succession
process in natural forests, can be controlled if farmers who live close to forest areas are able
to use these invasive plants as ameliorant fertilizer for their agricultural land (Thiel et al.,
2021).
Humic acid is able to make the soil atmosphere very desirable for plants. The use of
humic acid can reduce the need for chemical fertilizers by up to 80%. In this way, farmers
only need to provide fertilizer for 20% of the plant’s nutritional needs. This is because humic
acid provides the following benefits: increasing the CEC value of the soil thereby increasing
the soil’s ability to hold and retain nutrients in the soil; prevent erosion; increase the ability
to absorb water by 80–90%; binds and precipitates heavy metals and other toxic materials;
convert nutrients into forms that are easily absorbed by plants in the soil; increases the
permeability of plant membranes; increasing fertilization efficiency by binding and regulat
ing nutrient release according to plant needs; loosens the soil, reduces soil acidity and binds
aluminum and forms it into complex compounds that are difficult to decompose; increasing
aeration and soil pore space; stimulate soil microbiological activity which functions in the
decomposition process to produce humus; and, stimulate soil microbiological activity
30
plant height (cm)
25
20
15
10
5
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
week's observation
Treatment A0 Treatment A1 Treatment A2
Treatment A3 Treatment A3
Figure 3. Growth rate of H. brasiliensis plants from the beginning to 16 weeks of age.
606 B. UTOMO ET AL.
which will produce growth hormones such as auxin, cytokines, and gibberellins which are
good for plants (Chen, 2022).
The high benefits of humic acid for improving the physical, chemical, and biological
properties of soil mean that fertilizer requirements can be reduced by up to 20% of normal
fertilizer requirements. This cannot be separated from the nature of humic acid, which
provides positive benefits for improving soil properties so that not many of the nutrients
provided through fertilizer are bound by soil minerals, so they can be immediately absorbed
by plant roots. Plant roots grow healthily because the porosity and structure of the soil are
looser due to the presence of humic acid as an ameliorant (Tahir et al., 2021).
The use of humic acid also significantly increases the dry weight of shoots, roots, and the
total dry weight of plants. When compared to using pure chicken manure, the use of humic
acid even increases the dry weight of plants several times (Table 2).
Based on Table 2, it appears that the application of humic acid increases the dry weight of
plant shoots and roots, which generally shows an increase in the total dry weight of plants
(Wiegleb et al., 2023). The dry weight of the plant increases along with the increase in the
weight of the plant crown and roots (Yang et al., 2019). Increased plant canopy growth is
supported by increased root development in the soil. It is suspected that this is due to soil
improvement by humic acid, which creates more comfortable conditions for the develop
ment of plant roots (Kononova, 2021). Biological processes in the soil also increase with
improvements in soil properties, so that plant roots can more easily absorb nutrients
(Marova et al., 2021). On the other hand, improvements in physical properties such as
aeration and soil pore space due to humic acid result in plant roots growing more freely in
the soil and obtaining nutrients more quickly (Yates & von Wandruszka, 2019).
Nutrients that are slowly released in the soil become immediately available to plant
roots. This resulted in shoot and root growth increasing sharply when compared to
the control and use of pure chicken manure. As is known, the use of organic materials
has the disadvantage of low nutritional value and slow release into the soil.
Application of humic acid significantly increases nutrient uptake, which has an impact
on increasing plant canopy weight. The highest plant canopy weight was obtained
when applying humic acid from E. crassipes (19.96 g), which increased by 537.45%
when compared to the control (4.24 g) and increased by 206.64% when compared to
using pure manure (8.85 g). Judging from the shoot root ratio, it appears that this
parameter shows an increase along with improved plant growth by administering
humic acid. All types of humic acid have a positive effect on increasing the shoot
root ratio. The improvement in the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the
Table 2. Plant dry weight and shoot: root ratio of 3-month-old H. brasiliensis plants in the field.
Ratio
Treatment Header Dry weight (g) Root Dry Weight (g) Total Dry Weight (g) Heading: Root
A0 2.67a 1.57a 4.24a 1.70a
A1 5.87b 2.88ab 8.85b 1.97ab
A2 12.13cd 4.80bc 16.93cd 2.53bc
A3 14.35d 5.61d 19.96d 2.56cd
A4 9.05c 4.97bc 16.02c 2.22bc
Description: A0 = control; A1 = pure chicken manure; A2 = commercial humic acid; A3 = humic acid from E. crassipes; A4 =
humic acid from A. inulaefolium. Numbers followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different at
the 5% level according to DMRT.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 607
soil due to the application of humic acid also makes it easier for plant roots to
penetrate the soil layers to find food sources. The roots move more freely in the
soil so that the plant roots grow healthy and mature. Improving root conditions has
an impact on increasing plant canopy growth. This results in an increase in the shoot
root ratio value of the plant (Schols et al., 2021).
However, the use of all types of humic acid significantly increased the dry weight
of plant shoots and roots when compared to control and pure chicken manure (Qi
et al., 2023). This provides a breath of fresh air for farmers who live in bordering
forest areas to make and utilize nuisance weeds in forest areas as basic ingredients
for making humic acid to increase the productivity of their agricultural land. It is
hoped that these findings will be a motivation for farmers to utilize weeds and
nuisance plants in forest areas, as well as weeds that pollute the water surface of
Lake Toba, into alternative fertilizers that save their fertilization costs. Socialization
and training on procedures for utilizing this invasive alien plant species for use as
humic acid, ameliorant, and organic fertilizer need to be encouraged so that the
sustainability of the forest environment can be maintained, especially in areas
bordering community agricultural areas. Likewise, E. crassipes pollution in the
Lake Toba area can be reduced by making this humic acid product (Ferrara et al.,
2004).
Conclusions
Making humic acid from invasive alien plant species produces different volumes of
humic acid. Material derived from E. crassipes produces 90 l of humic acid, while
material derived from A. inulaefolium produces 78 l of humic acid. The use of humic
acid significantly increases plant growth in terms of plant height, stem diameter, leaf
area, and plant dry weight compared to the control. The highest plant growth response
was found in the humic acid treatment derived from E. crassipes, which increased plant
height growth by 581.98%, stem diameter by 231.53%, and leaf area by 589.20%. This
treatment also increased shoot dry weight by 537.45%, root dry weight by 357.32%, and
total dry weight by 470.75% when compared to the control. It is suggested that these
findings will motivate farmers to make humic acid from weeds and invasive plants
(E. crassipes and A. inulaefolium), which is useful in saving fertilizer costs for farmers
who live in bordering forest areas.
Acknowledgments
Thanks were expressed to the University of North Sumatra’s research center for providing funding
support for research talent in 2017. We also thank Nurul Risky, Christiana Sirait, and Ririn Miranda
for providing energy and thought support in this research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
608 B. UTOMO ET AL.
ORCID
Budi Utomo [Link]
Rizky Wahyudi [Link]
Samsuri [Link]
Mohammad Basyuni [Link]
Author contributions
Each author (B.U., R.W., S., M.B.) equally contributed as main contributors to the design and
conceptualization of the manuscript, conducted the literature reviews, performed the analysis,
prepared the initial draft, and revised and finalized the manuscript.
References
Brzozowski, T., Dembiński, A., & Konturek, S. (2021). Influence of tołpa peat preparation on
gastroprotection and on gastric and duodenal ulcers, Acta poloniae pharmaceutica, 51(1), 103–107.
Chen, Y. (2022). Organic matter reactions involving micronutrients in soils and their effect on plants.
In A. Piccolo (Ed.), Humic substances in terrestrial ecosystems elsevier (pp. 507–529). Elsevier
Science.
Chen, Y., & Stevenson, F. J. (2021). Soil organic matter interactions with trace elements. In Y. Chen &
Y. Avnimelech (Eds.), The role of organic matter in modern agriculture 2021 (pp. 73–116). https://
[Link]/10.1007/978-94-009-4426-8_5
Cheng, M. L., Ho, H. Y., Chiu, D. T., & Lu, F. J. (2019). Humic acid-mediated oxidative damages to
human erythrocytes: A possible mechanism leading to anemia in Blackfoot disease, free radic.
Biology and Medicine, 27(3–4), 470–477. [Link]
Cozzi, R., Nicolai, M., Perticone, P., Salvia, R. D., & Spuntarelli, F. (1993). Desmutagenic activity of
natural humic acids: Inhibition of mitomycin C and maleic hydrazide mutagenicity. Mutation
Research, 299(1), 37–44. [Link]
Czyzewska-Szafran, H., Jastrzebski, Z., Sołtysiak-Pawluczuk, D., Wutkiewicz, M., Jedrych, A., &
Remiszewska, M. (2023). Systemic toxicity and dermal irritation of tołpa peat preparation, Acta
Poloniae Pharmaceutica, 50(4–5), 373–377.
Ferrara, G., Loffredo, E., & Senesi, N. (2004). Anticlastogenic, antitoxic and sorption effects of humic
substances on the mutagen maleic hydrazide tested in leguminous plants. European Journal of Soil
Science, 55(3), 449–458. [Link]
Kononova, M. M. (2021). Soil organic matter: Its nature, its role in soil formation and in soil fertility.
Pergamon Press.
Lee, W. J., Lu, F. J., Wang, S. F., Chen, Y. R., & Tseng, T. H. (2019). In vitro enhancement effect of
humic acid on the progression of lung cancer cells. Chemico-Biological Interactions, 181(3),
463–471. [Link]
Lu, F.-J., Tseng, T.-H., Lee, W.-J., Yen, C.-C., Yin, Y.-F., Liao, C.-W., & Liu, K.-M. (2022). Promoting
neoplastic transformation of humic acid in mouse epidermal JB6 Cl41 cells. Chemico-Biological
Interactions, 162(3), 249–258. [Link]
Marova, I., Kucerik, J., Duronova, K., Mikulcova, A., & Vlckova, Z. (2021). Antimutagenic and/or
genotoxic effects of processed humic acids as tested upon S. Cerevisiae D7. Environmental
Chemistry Letters, 9(2), 229–233. [Link]
Martini, S., D’Addario, C., Bonechi, C., Leone, G., Tognazzi, A. A., Consumi, M., Magnani, A. A., &
Rossi, C. (2020). Increasing photostability and water-solubility of carotenoids: Synthesis and
characterization of β-carotene-humic acid complexes. Journal of Photochemistry and
Photobiology B: Biology, 101(3), 355–361. [Link]
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY 609
Mirza, M. A., Agarwal, S. P., Rahman, M. A., Rauf, A., Ahmad, N., Alam, A., & Iqbal, Z. (2021). Role
of humic acid on oral drug delivery of an antiepileptic drug, Drug Development and Industrial
Pharmacy, 37(3), 310–319. [Link]
Müller, I., Jenner, A., Bruchelt, G., Niethammer, D., & Halliwell, B. (2024). Effect of concentration on
the cytotoxic mechanism of doxorubicin-apoptosis and oxidative DNA damage. Biochemical &
Biophysical Research Communications, 230(2), 254–257. [Link]
Pan, J., Simamura, E., Koyama, J., Shimada, H., & Hirai, K. I. (2020). Induced apoptosis and necrosis
by 2-methylfuranonaphtoquinone in human cervical cancer HeLa cells. Cancer Detection and
Prevention, 24(3), 266–274.
Perdue, M. (2024). Acidic functional groups of humic substances. In G. R. Aiken, M. D. McKnight,
R. L. Wershaw, & P. MacCarthy (Eds.), Humic substances in soil (pp. 494–526). Sediment and
Water, Wiley.
Piccolo, A., Nardi, S., & Concheri, G. (2022). Structural characteristics of humic substances as related
to nitrate uptake and growth regulation in plant systems. Soil Biology and Biochemistry (Moscow),
24(4), 373–380. [Link]
Prusiner, S. B., & Prions, P. (2023). Natl. Academy of Sciences, 95(23), 13363–13383. [Link]
10.1073/pnas.95.23.13363
Qi, S., Hartog, G., & Bast, A. (2023). Damage to lung epithelial cells and lining fluid antioxidant
defense by humic acid. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 26(1), 96–101. [Link]
org/10.1016/[Link].2023.02.007
Riede, U. N., Jonas, I., Kirn, B., Usener, U. H., Kreutz, W., & Schlickewey, W. (2022). Collagen
stabilization induced by natural humic substances. Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery,
111(5), 259–264. [Link]
Schols, D., Wutzler, P., Klöcking, R., Helbig, B., & Clercq, E. D. (2021). Selective inhibitory action of
polyhydroxycarboxylates derived from phenolic compounds against human immunodeficiency
virus replication. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 7, 677–685.
Sposito, G., & Weber, J. H. (1986). Sorption of trace metals by humic materials in soils and natural
waters. Critical Reviews in Environmental Control, 16(2), 193–229. [Link]
10643388609381745
Stempvoort, D. R. V., & Lesage, S. (2022). Binding of methylated naphthalenes to concentrated
aqueous humic acid. Advances in Environmental Research, 6(4), 495–504. [Link]
S1093-0191(01)00076-4
Tahir, M. M., Khurshid, M., Khan, M. Z., Abbasi, M. K., & Kazmi, M. H. (2021). Lignite-derived
humic acid effect on growth of wheat plants in different soils. Pedosphere, 21(1), 124–131. https://
[Link]/10.1016/S1002-0160(10)60087-2
Thiel, K. D., Helbig, B., Klöcking, R., Wutzler, P., Sprössig, M., & Schweizer, H. (2021). Comparison
of the in vitro activities of ammonium humate and of enzymically oxidized chlorogenic and caffeic
acids against type 1 and type 2 human herpes virus. Pharmazie, 36(1), 50–53.
Wiegleb, K., Lange, N., & Kühnert, M. (2023). The use of the HET-CAM test for the determination of
the irritating effects of humic acids. Deutsche Tierarztliche Wochenschrift, 100(10), 412–416.
Wollina, U. (2019). Peat: A natural source for dermatocosmetics and dermatotherapeutics. Journal of
Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 2(1), 17–20. [Link]
Yang, H.-L., Hseu, Y.-C., Hseu, Y.-T., Lu, F.-J., Lin, E., & Lai, J.-S. (2019). Humic acid induces
apoptosis in human premyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Life Sciences, 75(15), 1817–1831. https://
[Link]/10.1016/[Link].2019.02.033
Yates, L. M., & von Wandruszka, R. (2019). Decontamination of polluted water by treatment with
a crude humic acid blend. Environmental Science and Technology, 33(12), 2076–2080. [Link]
org/10.1021/es980408k
