Soil Enzyme Activities and Their Relationship with Soil Physico-Chemical Properties and Oxide Minerals in Coastal Agroecosystem of Puducherry

Earthworm Diversity and Their Influences on Soil Enzyme Activities in Organic, Sustainable and Conventional Farming Systems of Puducherry

“…Statistically significant differences between the farm management practices were analyzed by using one way ANOVA test. The relationship between soil enzymes and earthworm population were analyzed by Pearson correlation (Sudhakaran et al, 2019). The Simpson's index of dominance, Shannon's diversity index, Menhinick species richness index, Fisher's alpha diversity and species evenness (Dey and Chaudhuri, 2014) of earthworm communities were analyzed by using of PAST (PAleon to logical STatistics) software version 2.…”

Plant Nutrition—New Methods Based on the Lessons of History: A Review

“…Soil is a biochemical reaction site due to this activity, where the decomposition of organic residues, transformation of soil organic matter, and mineralisation of nutrients for plant growth activities take place using a group of intracellular and extracellular enzymes secreted from different sources [ 193 ]. Soil enzymes are synthesised and secreted by soil microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) [ 190 ], plant root exudates, animals, and the decay of animals and plants and through the interaction of plants and microbes in the rhizosphere [ 194 , 195 ]. The root rhizosphere is a major hotspot area for the production of enzymes, and the activity and distribution of soil enzymes is greater than in bulk soil due to the active and passive release of rhizodeposits (secretions, mucilage, exudates, and sloughed-off cells) from various root zones, which enhance microbial activity and enzyme production [ 196 , 197 ].…”

“…The activities of protease, urease, acid/alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase, cellulose, saccharase, and xylanase enzymes are significantly higher in organic farming compared to conventional farming due to the presence of rich microbial diversity, high soil organic matter content, soil respiration, soil moisture content, and microbial biomass of C and N under organic farming conditions [ 195 ].…”

“…These enzymes are also responsible for the active decomposition of carbon and nitrogen compounds and transformation and mineralisation of soil organic matter [ 196 , 204 ] and are used as an indicator of soil–microbe–root interaction activities [ 189 ] due to their fast responses to environmental changes, disturbances, and contamination [ 194 ]. The enzymes carry out various biochemical reactions to maintain biogeochemical processes in soil, e.g., the mineralisation of N, C, S, and P from organic compounds (chitin, organic sulphur, xylane, urea, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), stabilisation of the soil structure due to the higher stability of soil aggregates [ 195 ], and degradation of very toxic compounds or heavy metal contaminates into nontoxic compounds by chelating them into complexes [ 198 ]. Soil enzymes play a significant role in the formation and transformation of metal oxides, biogeochemical nutrient cycling, maintaining soil fertility and health, and protecting the environment from pollutant molecules [ 195 , 199 ].…”

“…The enzymes carry out various biochemical reactions to maintain biogeochemical processes in soil, e.g., the mineralisation of N, C, S, and P from organic compounds (chitin, organic sulphur, xylane, urea, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), stabilisation of the soil structure due to the higher stability of soil aggregates [ 195 ], and degradation of very toxic compounds or heavy metal contaminates into nontoxic compounds by chelating them into complexes [ 198 ]. Soil enzymes play a significant role in the formation and transformation of metal oxides, biogeochemical nutrient cycling, maintaining soil fertility and health, and protecting the environment from pollutant molecules [ 195 , 199 ]. In addition, metal oxides and clay minerals have a great effect on soil biological properties [ 195 ].…”