The SOM of slash-residues consisted to a substantial amount of sterols and was generally found to be of low thermal stability and probably did not contribute to aggregate stability.  A probable increased microbial activity and contribution to SOM after clear-cut is also reflected in the significantly increasing hexose:pentose ratio by 0.25 between 10 and 24 month after clear-cut, significantly increasing the general thermal stability of SOM in the microaggregate size fraction and believed to contribute to aggregate stability. 
THERM