Enzyme activity of Chromic Luvisols under different degree of erosion and land use

Abstract

Soil erosion is a serious environmental problem and a threat to the sustainable agriculture production. Little information is available on enzyme activities of eroded soils in Bulgaria, especially on their relations to the degree of erosion and soil properties. In this work, slightly, moderately and severely eroded Chromic Luvisols under different land use (pasture, crop field and virgin) were studied. Enzyme activities (invertase, catalase and phosphatase), total nitrogen, total carbon, available phosphorus contents and soil particle distribution were determined and possible relations between them were examined. Data showed that enzyme activities tended to lower with increasing the degree of erosion. This was better pronounced for invertase and phosphatase in pasture and virgin soils. Depending on land use, all enzyme activities decreased in the order pasture > virgin > crop field soils, showing positive impact of soil cover and negative effect of cultivation practices. Soil invertase and phosphatase activities were in close relations with soil carbon content. The activities of catalase and phosphatase correlated positively with soil clay. Invertase only was in positive relation with soil silt and in negative relation with the sand content. Data obtained are intended to contribute to development of biological indicators of eroded soils. 

Keywords

• Enzymes,eroded soils,degree of erosion,land use,soil properties

References

1. Acosta-Martinez, V., Cruz., L., Ramirez, D.S., Alegria, L.P., 2007. Enzyme activities as affected by soil properties and land use in a tropical watershed. Applied Soil Ecology 35(1): 35-45.
2. Ampova, G., Paskaleva, K., 1970. The use of Schoorl’s method in determining the activity of the invetrase enzyme in soil. Soil Science and Agrochemistry 5(6): 69-72.
3. Arinushkina, E.V., 1975. Agrochemical Methods of Soil Analysis. Science, Moscow, Russia. 656 p.
4. Gülser, C., 2006. Effect of forage cropping treatments on soil structure and relationships with fractal dimensions. Geoderma 131: 33-44.
5. Ivanov, P., 1984. New acetate method for assessing plant available phosphorus and potassium in soil. Soil Science and Agrochemistry 19(4): 88-97.
6. Kachinskiy, N.A., 1958. Soil particles and micro-aggregates composition: Methods for Analysis. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. 193p.
7. Kandeler, E., Palli, S., Stemmer, M., Gerzabek, M.H., 1999. Tillage changes microbial biomass and enzyme activities in particle-size fractions of a Haplic Chernozem. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 31(9): 1253–1264.
8. Kizilkaya, R., Askin, T., Ozdemir, N., 2003. Use of enzyme activities as a soil erodibility indicator. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 73: 446-450.

9. Lal, R., 2006. Managing soils for feeding a global population of 10 billion. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 86(14): 2273-2284.
10. Marx, M.-C., Kandeler, E., Wood, M., Wermbter, N., Jarvis, S.C., 2005. Exploring the enzymatic landscape: distribution and kinetics of hydrolytic enzymes in soil particle-size fractions. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37(1): 35-48.
11. Moreno-de las Heras, M., 2009. Development of soil physical structure and biological functionality in mining spoils affected by soil erosion in a Mediterranean-Continental environment. Geoderma 149 (3–4): 249–256.
12. Nedyalkova, K., Donkova, R., Petkova, G., 2013. Phosphatase activity of eroded (arable and virgin) soils. Journal of Balkan Ecology 16(4): 367-373.
13. Özdemir, N., Öztürk, E., Durmus, O.T.K.., Ekberli, I. 2015. Effects of organic and inorganic amendments on soil erodibility. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 4(4): 266-271.
14. Park, J.H., Meusburger, K., Jang, I., Kang, H., Alewell, C., 2014. Erosion-induced changes in soil biogeochemical and microbiological properties in Swiss Alpine grasslands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 69: 382-392.
15. Puglisi, E., Del Re, A.A.M., Rao, M.A., Gianfreda, L., 2006. Development and validation of numerical indexes integrating enzyme activities of soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38 (7): 1673–1681.
16. Stefanic, G., Dumitru, L., 1970. Determination de l’activite de la catalase du sol por voie colorimetrique. Biologie du Sol 12: 12-13.
17. Tabatabai, M.A., 1994. Soil enzymes. In: Weaver, R.W., Angle J.S. and Bottomley P.S. (eds.). Methods of Soil Analysis: Part 2. Microbiological and Biochemical Properties, SSSA Book Ser. 5, SSSA, Madisson, WI, USA. pp.775-833.
18. Trasar-Cepeda, C., Leiros, M.C., Gil-Sotres, F., 2000. Biochemical properties of acid soils under climax vegetation (Atlantic oakwood) in area of the European temperate-humid zone (Galicia, NW Spain): Specific parameters. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32: 747-755.
19. Yin, R., Deng, H., Wang, H.I., Zhang, B., 2014. Vegetation type affects soil enzyme activities and microbial functional diversity following re-vegetation of a severely eroded red soil in sub-tropical China. Catena 115: 96-103.