Vertical Profiles of Soil Properties and Microbial Activities in Peatbog Soils in Slovakia

Abstract

Peatlands are unique ecological communities that represent long-term terrestrial carbon sinks with enormous organic substance supply. Soil organic substance represents the main source of organic carbon in the biosphere, and depending of conditions, it is able to eliminate or sequestrate greenhouse gasses in the environment. Current methods of peatbogs assessment rely on the use of ecological indicators, but often lack an in-depth analysis of soil parameters. The objective of this study was to examine vertical profiles of selected soil properties (soil reaction, soil organic carbon content, soil moisture) and various types of microbial activity (soil basal respiration, microbial biomass carbon, activity of soil urease, phosphatases and catalase). Soil samples were collected from three sites (centre of peatbog, edge of peatbog and site closely surrounding peatbog) on the peat soil at three depth intervals (0–0.10 m, 0.10–0.20 m and 0.20–0.30 m) in northeast of Slovakia. Enzyme and microbial activities decreased with depth, but significant correlation was found with alkaline phosphatase. Average values of most soil biochemical indices were highest at the centre of peatbog with the exception of urease and catalase activity. Our results indicated that enzymatic and biological potential for organic matter mineralization was strongly correlated to soil pH, soil moisture and soil organic matter content.