Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area

As they quickly respond to environmental conditions, soil enzymes, involved in nutrient cycles, are considered good indicators of soil quality. The Mediterranean area is a peculiar environment for climatic conditions and for fire frequency. Therefore, the research aimed to evaluate the role of seaso...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied sciences 2021-09, Vol.11 (18), p.8342
Main Authors: Memoli, Valeria, Santorufo, Lucia, Santini, Giorgia, Musella, Paola, Barile, Rossella, De Marco, Anna, Di Natale, Gabriella, Trifuoggi, Marco, Maisto, Giulia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cellobiase
Chromatography
Climatic conditions
dehydrogenase
Dehydrogenases
Environmental conditions
Enzymatic activity
Enzymes
Glucosidase
Herbs
Hydrolase
Investigations
Laboratories
Magnesium
Manganese
metal availability
Metal concentrations
Mineralization
National parks
Nutrient availability
Nutrient concentrations
Nutrient cycles
Organic matter
Precipitation
Robinia pseudoacacia
Seasonal variations
Soil conditions
Soil investigations
Soil properties
Soil quality
Soil stability
Soil surfaces
Soil water
Trends
Vegetation
β-Glucosidase
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Summary:As they quickly respond to environmental conditions, soil enzymes, involved in nutrient cycles, are considered good indicators of soil quality. The Mediterranean area is a peculiar environment for climatic conditions and for fire frequency. Therefore, the research aimed to evaluate the role of seasonality and fire on enzymatic activities (i.e., hydrolase, dehydrogenase, and β-glucosidase) in soils covered by herbs, black locust, pine, and holm oak. In addition, the main soil abiotic properties that drive the enzymatic activities were also investigated. In order to achieve the aims, surface soils were collected in unburnt and burnt areas and characterized for water and organic matter contents, pH, concentrations of C and N, and available fractions of Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, and Pb. The results highlighted that the soil enzymatic activities were mainly affected by seasonality more than by fire; in unburnt soils, their main drivers were nutrient availabilities, whereas, in burnt soils they were pH, water and organic matter contents, C and N concentrations, and both nutrient and metal availabilities. Finally, holm oak, as compared with herbs, pine, and black locust, conferred higher stability to soils that were affected by seasonality and fire.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app11188342