Soil Enzymes

Soil enzymes increase the reaction rate at which plant residues decompose and release plant available nutrients. The substance acted upon by a soil enzyme is called the substrate. For example, glucosidase (soil enzyme) cleaves glucose from glucoside (substrate), a compound common in plants. Enzymes are specific to a substrate and have active sites that bind with the substrate to form a temporary complex. The enzymatic reaction releases a product, which can be a nutrient contained in the substrate.

Sources of soil enzymes include living and dead microbes, plant roots and residues, and soil animals. Enzymes stabilized in the soil matrix accumulate or form complexes with organic matter (humus), clay, and humus-clay complexes, but are no longer associated with viable cells. It is thought that 40 to 60% of enzyme activity can come from stabilized enzymes, so activity does not necessarily correlate highly with microbial biomass or respiration. Therefore, enzyme activity is the cumulative effect of long term microbial activity and activity of the viable population at sampling. However, an example of an enzyme that only reflects activity of viable cells is dehydrogenase, which in theory can only occur in viable cells and not in stabilized soil complexes.

Relationship to Soil Function

Enzymes respond to soil management changes long before other soil quality indicator changes are detectable. Soil enzymes play an important role in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling (table 1). Some enzymes only facilitate the breakdown of organic matter (e.g., hydrolase, glucosidase), while others are involved in nutrient mineralization (e.g., amidase, urease, phosphatase, sulfates). With the exception of phosphatase activity, there is no strong evidence that directly relates enzyme activity to nutrient availability or crop production. The relationship may be indirect considering nutrient mineralization to plant available forms is accomplished with the contribution of enzyme activity.

Problems with Poor Activity

Absence or suppression of soil enzymes prevents or reduces processes that can affect plant nutrition. Poor enzyme activity (e.g., pesticide degrading enzymes) can result in an accumulation of chemicals that are harmful to the environment; some of these chemicals may further inhibit soil enzyme activity.

Improving Enzyme Activity

Organic amendment applications, crop rotation, and cover crops have been shown to enhance enzyme activity (figs 1 and 2). The positive effect of pasture (fig 2) is associated with the input of animal manure and less soil disturbance. Agricultural methods that modify soil pH (e.g., liming) can also change enzyme activity.

This Page Was Created Utilizing Text And Images From These Sources:

Soil Enzymes, Soil Quality Indicators Fact Sheet- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service