For an agricultural region such as the Vojvodina Province in northern Serbia,
soil quality monitoring is very important. Enzymatic activities are proposed
as good indicators as they respond to even the slightest changes in the
soil. This study aimed to analyze the enzymatic activity levels across three
different soil types in Vojvodina and to examine their connection to soil
chemical properties and land use. All soil types (chernozem, vertisol,
solonchak) were sampled at nine locations, each with 3 field plots. The
activities of acid and alkaline phosphatase, ?-glucosidase, dehydrogenase,
and catalase were measured in samples, as well as the selected chemical
properties. Results showed differences in enzymatic activity across
different soil types and land use. The most active enzymes in vertisol were
acid phosphatase and ?-glucosidase; in solonchak, it was alkaline
phosphatase; in chernozem, it was dehydrogenase. A high correlation between
enzymatic activities and certain soil chemical properties (pH reaction,
organic matter, organic carbon, total nitrogen) was also observed,
underlining the existence of a relationship between different soil
components. The highest determined correlation was between acid phosphatase
and pH (r=-0.7), alkaline phosphatase and total nitrogen (r=0.7), and
organic matter (r=0.72); the obtained correlations were found to be
statistically significant.