Abstract
Long-term continuous cultivation of different plant species in a similar agroecosystem intensively may result in divergent variability in soil fertility, particularly soil biochemical properties. In this study, an investigation was conducted to clarify the variability of five soil enzyme activities (urease, protease, catalase, polyphenol oxidase and alkaline phosphatase) of croplands under medicinal plants (herbal fields) and food crops (crop fields) in Anguo city, a traditional cultivation base for Chinese medicinal plants in China. The results showed that five soil enzyme activities were similar between herbal and crop fields. However, soil urease and alkaline phosphatase activities of herbal and crop fields decreased significantly with soil depth (0-60 cm), while protease, catalase, polyphenol oxidase activities were similar in all soil layers for two kinds of fields. There were largely variation scenes at linear correlation analysis between soil physicochemical traits and enzymatic activities under medicinal plant versus crop fileds although extensively significant correlations were presented. In conclusion, soil enzyme activities were similar in two type of farmlands, and soil urease and alkaline phosphatase activities decreased with soil depth for both fields. Inconsistent linear correlations between soil physicochemical traits and enzymatic activities under medicinal plant versus crop fields were presented, so soil enzymatic activity variation was subjected to soil physicochemical traits dominated by agronomic managements designed for specific plant species.
Highlights
Soil enzymes are potential indicators of soil fertility because they did show us the status of soil biology and soil nutrient cycling in agroecosystems (Dick 1994; Dick et al.1996)
The same as herbal fields, there were significant differences between soil urease and ALP activities in crop fields between three soil layers, and they decreased with increment in soil depth remarkably (Table 1)
The current results showed that soil urease and ALP activities decreased with soil depth both in herbal and crop fields
Summary
Soil enzymes are potential indicators of soil fertility because they did show us the status of soil biology and soil nutrient cycling in agroecosystems (Dick 1994; Dick et al.1996). They indicate soil biochemical characteristics to understand the status and evolution of soil fertility and monitor the effects of soil management on long-term productivity (Doran and Parkin 1994; Zeng et al.2008). Transformation and cycle of soil organic N and P are mainly catalyzed and driven by urease, protease and phosphatase. Plant roots and microflora are sources of soil enzymes, dominating soil enzyme activities and the soil biology and biochemistry
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