Comparison of Natural Abiotic Factors and Pollution Influence on the Soil Enzymative Activity

The enzymatic pool of the soil is formed over a long period of time under the influence of many natural factors. Therefore, the information on the lability of soil enzymes under the influence of the main abiotic factors is necessary for the diagnosis of the anthropogenic influence on ecosystems. The aim of the study was to determine the variability of the activity of catalase, invertase, and urease in sod-podzolic and grey forest soils in response to the main abiotic factors and model pollution. The studied areas belonged to the subzones of middle and southern taiga and mixed forests, the average annual temperature ranged from 2.9 to 6.6 ℃, and the рНKCl level of extracts from soils was in the range of 4.2–5.6. It was shown that the activity of exozymes in the soil of southern taiga and mixed forests depends most of all on the average annual temperature and pH level. No relationship between the enzyme activity and soil organic carbon was found. Artificial soil salinity led to an increase in the activity of invertase and urease. Soil contamination with zinc (25.5 and 255.0 mg/kg of dry soil) suppressed only the invertase activity. Thus, the influence of natural abiotic factors on the activity of soil enzymes was more often found than the chemical load.