Understanding the interactions of pollutants within the soil matrix and the properties of SOM is crucial for optimizing remediation strategies, such as immobilization or bioremediation . Traditionally, SOM has been closely studied by obtaining so-called humic substances (HSs) via alkaline extraction, which benefits from standardized protocols and reference samples provided by the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) . Despite ongoing discussions about how accurately HSs can reflect native SOM , they remain the subject of research aiming to understand more about SOM formation, composition, and activities in diverse environments .