Different approaches to evaluating soil quality using biochemical properties

Gil‐Sotres, F.; Trasar-Cepeda, Carmen; Leirós, M.C.; Seoane, Samuel

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2004.10.003

Cited by 615 publications

(360 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

312

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast, qCO 2 values in NF soil were lower, indicating more stable ecosystems, with greater efficiency of microorganisms to convert organic waste into microbial biomass and with greater sustainability, which is consistent with the history of the NF area and corroborates results published elsewhere (Tótola & Chaer, 2002;Gil-Sotres et al, 2005;Baretta, 2007).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Relationships between microbial activity and soil physical and chemical properties in native and reforested Araucaria angustifolia forests in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Pereira

Baretta

Bini³

et al. 2013

Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Solo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYAraucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze is the main component of the Mixed Ombrophilous forest and, in the State of São Paulo, it is associated with a high diversity of soil organisms, essential for the maintenance of soil quality, making the conservation of this ecosystem a major and pressing challenge. The objective of this study was to identify the physical and chemical properties that are most closely correlated with dehydrogenase enzyme activity, basal respiration and microbial biomass under native (NF) and replanted (RF) Araucaria angustifolia forests in three regions of the state of São Paulo, in winter and summer. The main differentiating factors between the areas were also determined. Each forest was represented by three true replications; at each site, from around the araucaria trees, 15 soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected to evaluate the soil physical, chemical and microbiological properties. At the same points, forest litter was sampled to assess mass and chemical properties. The following microbiological properties were evaluated: microbial biomass carbon (MBC), basal respiration (CO 2 -C), metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ), dehydrogenase enzyme activity (DHA) as well as the physical properties (moisture, bulk density, macroporosity and total porosity), soil chemical properties [pH, organic carbon (org-C), P, Ca, K, Mg, Al, H+Al], litter dry mass, and C, N and S contents. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (Two-way ANOVA). A Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) and a Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) were also performed. In the soil under NF, the values of K, P, soil macroporosity, and litter dry mass were higher and qCO 2 and DHA lower, regardless of the sampling period, and DHA was lower in winter. In the RF areas, the levels of moisture, porosity and qCO 2 were higher in both sampling periods, and DHA was higher in winter. The MBC was only higher under NF in the summer, while the litter contents of C, N and S were greater in winter. In winter, CCA showed a high correlation of DHA with CO 2 -C, pH and H+Al, while in the summer org-C, moisture, Mg, pH and litter C were more associated with DHA and CO 2 -C. The CDA indicated H+Al, available P, total porosity, litter S content, and soil moisture as the most discriminating variables between NF and RF, but moisture was the most relevant, in both seasons and CO 2 -C only in winter. The combined analysis of CCA and CDA showed that the contribution of the microbiological variables to a differentiation of the areas was small at both samplings, which may indicate that the period after reforestation was long enough to allow an almost complete recovery of the microbial activity.Index terms: multivariate analysis, soil quality, soil chemical properties, microbiological properties. RESUMO: RELAÇÃO ENTRE ATIVIDADE MICROBIANA E ATRIBUTOS FÍSICOS E QUÍMICOS DO SOLO EM FLORESTA DE Araucaria angustifolia NATIVA E REFLORESTADA NO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO A Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze é a principal componente da Floresta Ombrófila Mista n...

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Relationships between microbial activity and soil physical and chemical properties in native and reforested Araucaria angustifolia forests in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Pereira

Baretta

Bini³

et al. 2013

Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Solo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Soil microbial enzymes play a key role in the decomposition of organic residues and are considered fundamentally as good indicators for soil quality (Gil-Sotres et al 2005). In order to evaluate the fluxes of elements in highly contaminated soils, hydrolytic enzymes such as GSA, PRA, and PSA involved in C, N and P cycles, respectively, were determined in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of long-term industrial waste effluent pollution on soil enzyme activities and bacterial community composition

Subrahmanyam

Shen

Liu

et al. 2016

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although numerous studies have addressed the influence of exogenous pollutants on microorganisms, the effect of long-term industrial waste effluent (IWE) pollution on the activity and diversity of soil bacteria was still unclear. Three soil samples characterized as uncontaminated (R1), moderately contaminated (R2), and highly contaminated (R3) receiving mixed organic and heavy metal pollutants for more than 20 years through IWE were collected along the Mahi River basin, Gujarat, western India. Basal soil respiration and in situ enzyme activities indicated an apparent deleterious effect of IWE on microbial activity and soil function. Community composition profiling of soil bacteria using 16S rRNA gene amplification and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method indicated an apparent bacterial community shift in the IWE-affected soils. Cloning and sequencing of DGGE bands revealed that the dominated bacterial phyla in polluted soil were affiliated with Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria, indicating that these bacterial phyla may have a high tolerance to pollutants. We suggested that specific bacterial phyla along with soil enzyme activities could be used as relevant biological indicators for longterm pollution assessment on soil quality.

show abstract

“…This might result in contradictory conclusions in different studies when describing the effects of a contaminant or a given management on the soil quality (Gil-Sotres et al, 2005). Moreover, with the knowledge actually available, estimation of soil quality relying only on individual biochemical properties, simple indexes or ratios, cannot be considered reliable.…”

Section: Microbiological and Biochemical Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health?

Cardoso¹,

Vasconcellos²,

Bini³

et al. 2013

Sci. agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.)

420

220

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil Health refers to the ecological equilibrium and the functionality of a soil and its capacity to maintain a well balanced ecosystem with high biodiversity above and below surface, and productivity. To understand and use soil health as a tool for sustainability, physical, chemical, and biological properties must be employed to verify which respond to the soil use and management within a desired timescale. Attributes with a rapid response to natural or anthropogenic actions are considered good indicators of soil health. Among the physical indicators, soil texture, aggregation, moisture, porosity, and bulk density have been used, while among chemical indicators total C and N, mineral nutrients, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, among others are well established. However, most of them generally have a slow response, when compared to the biological ones, such as microbial biomass C and N, biodiversity, soil enzymes, soil respiration, etc., in addition to macro and mesofauna. Thus, a systemic approach based on different kinds of indicators (physical, chemical and biological) in assessing soil health would be safer than using only one kind of attribute. Many human activities have caused desertification, loss of biodiversity, disruption of aggregates, loss of organic matter and nutrients, among others. Today, it is imperious to maintain soil health and productivity with increasing emphasis on reforestation and recuperation of degraded areas through the use of organic amendments, reintroduction of plants, soil fauna and microorganisms. This review focused on an integrative view on indicators of soil health to be used as tools for prediction of sustainability in production systems.

show abstract

Different approaches to evaluating soil quality using biochemical properties

Cited by 615 publications

References 64 publications

Relationships between microbial activity and soil physical and chemical properties in native and reforested Araucaria angustifolia forests in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Relationships between microbial activity and soil physical and chemical properties in native and reforested Araucaria angustifolia forests in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Effect of long-term industrial waste effluent pollution on soil enzyme activities and bacterial community composition

Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About