Studies to the feasibility to characterize soil types by soil microbiological and biochemical analysis focus on the existence of microbial and biochemical characteristics distinctive to individual soil types. Many authors have attempted to elucidate relationships between microbiological and physico-chemical properties of different soil types (DUTZLER-FRANZ, 1977a, b; KHAZIYEV and KHABIROV, 1983...

Anthropogenic changes in biodiversity and atmospheric temperature significantly influence ecosystem processes. However, little is known about potential interactive effects of plant diversity and warming on essential ecosystem properties, such as soil microbial functions and element cycling. We studied the effects of orthogonal manipulations of plant diversity (one, four, and 16 species) and war...

abstract earthworms are an important component of soil fauna, and play a crucial role in the improvement of soil properties. however, very little is known of the interactive influence of earthworms and organic materials on soil enzyme activities, particularly in arid and semi-arid soils. the low organic matter content and the significant role of earthworms in stimulating microbiological and bio...

How soil fungi function in soil carbon and nutrient cycling is not well understood by using fungal enzymatic differences and their interactions with soil colloids. Eight extracellular enzymes, EEAs (chitinase, carboxymethyl cellulase, β-glucosidase, protease, acid phosphatase, polyphenol oxidase, laccase, and guaiacol oxidase) secreted by ten fungi were compared, and then the fungi that showed ...

Extracellular enzymes synthesized by soil microbes play a central role in the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients in the environment. The pH optima of eight hydrolytic enzymes involved in the cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, were assessed in a series of tropical forest soils of contrasting pH values from the Republic of Panama. Assays were conducted using 4-methylumbelliferon...

Longer and more severe drought periods are expected in the near future for Mediterranean ecosystems. Soil enzymes play an essential role in the nutrient mineralization and their activity is an exceptional sensor in predicting the capacity of nutrient supply to plants. We conducted an experiment of water availability manipulation in evergreen oak mountain stands with the aim to study the effects...

Extracellular enzymes are ubiquitous in soil environments. Produced by microorganisms and plant roots, these enzymes serve a dual function of degrading complex organic material into simpler forms and acquiring resources for the enzyme producer (Burns 1982; Sinsabaugh 1994). Without extracellular enzymes, microbes and plants would be unable to obtain resources from complex compounds, and cycles ...

BACKGROUND Evergreen coniferous forests contain high stocks of organic matter. Significant carbon transformations occur in litter and soil of these ecosystems, making them important for the global carbon cycle. Due to seasonal allocation of photosynthates to roots, carbon availability changes seasonally in the topsoil. The aim of this paper was to describe the seasonal differences in C source u...