Soil enzymatic activities in a hilly coffee plantation in lampung province, South Sumatra, Indonesia, under plant cover management

Abstract

The effect of weed cover on the activities of soil enzymes (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase, and arylsulfatase) was evaluated in plots established in a coffee plantation field that was located in a hilly area in Lampung Province, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The plots were as follows: plot without cover weed (control plot), plot covered with Paspalum conjugatum, and plot covered with the natural vegetation (5 m wide and 20 m long) along a 15° slope. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 20 and 20 to 40 cm depths. The activities of acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase were in general higher in the plots covered with P. conjugatum and the natural vegetation. The content of available P was well correlated with the activities of acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase, and arylsulfatase.. The decrease in the activities of the soil enzymes in the control plot relative to the plots with plant cover was attributed to a higher degree of soil erosion in the control plot than in the plots with plant cover.