soil enzyme activities are considered as one of the most important biological indicators and reflect the soil quality and fertility. current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between urease, invertase, alkaline phosphatase and aryl sulphatase activities of two histosols (located in kerman and shahrekord provence) and some of the soil chemical and biological properties. soil sa...

Soil microorganisms secrete enzymes used to metabolize carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) from the organic materials typically found in soil. Because of the connection with the active microbial biomass, soil enzyme activities can be used to investigate microbial nutrient cycling including the microbial response to environmental changes, transformation rates and to address the location...

This study was initiated to explore the effects of ozone (O3) exposure on potted wheat roots and soil microbial community function. Three treatments were performed: (1) Air with daily averaged O3 concentration of 4–10 ppb (control situation, CK), (2) Air plus 8 h averaged O3 concentration of 76.1 ppb (O3-1), and (3) Air plus 8 h averaged O3 concentration of 118.8 ppb (O3-2). In treatments with ...

We examined the effect of biochar on the water-soluble arsenic (As) concentration and the extent of organochlorine degradation in a co-contaminated historic sheep-dip soil during a 180-d glasshouse incubation experiment. Soil microbial activity, bacterial community and structure diversity were also investigated. Biochar made from willow feedstock (Salix sp) was pyrolysed at 350 or 550°C and add...

Suggested Reading: Jenkinson, D. S. and J. N. Ladd. 1981. Microbial biomass in soil: Measurement and turnover. p. 415-471. In E. A. Paul and J. N. Ladd (eds.), Soil Biochemistry, Volume 5. Marcel Dekker, New York. Tunlid, A and D. C. White. 1992. Biochemical analysis of biomass, community structure, nutritional status, and metabolic activity of microbial communities in soil. p. 229-262. In G. S...

Soil microbial communities are structured by biogeochemical processes that occur at many different spatial scales, which makes soil sampling difficult. Because soil microbial communities are important in nutrient cycling and soil fertility, it is important to understand how microbial communities function within the heterogeneous soil landscape. In this study, a self-organizing map was used to d...

Mulching is widely used to increase crop yield in semiarid regions in northwestern China, but little is known about the effect of different mulching systems on the microbial properties of the soil, which play an important role in agroecosystemic functioning and nutrient cycling. Based on a 4-year spring maize (Zea mays L.) field experiment at Changwu Agricultural and Ecological Experimental Sta...

Soil, the living terrestrial skin of the Earth, plays a central role in supporting life and is home to an unimaginable diversity of microorganisms. This review explores key drivers for microbial life in soils under different climates and land-use practices at scales ranging from soil pores to landscapes. We delineate special features of soil as a microbial habitat (focusing on bacteria) and the...

This study evaluated the influence of 20 annual land applications of Class B biosolids on the soil microbial community. The potential benefits and hazards of land application were evaluated by analysis of surface soil samples collected following the 20th land application of biosolids. The study was initiated in 1986 at the University of Arizona Marana Agricultural Center, 21 miles north of Tucs...

Published information is contradictory about the inhibitory or stimulatory effect of living roots on soil organic matter d~m~sition. In this study, i4C-labelled rye straw was exposed in fertilii or unfertilized soil with or without plants (winter rye, Se&e cereuIe) for 49 days under semi-controlled conditions. Our objective was to study the effect of roots on soil organic matter mineralization ...