Enzymatic activity of the Kuyavia Mollic Gleysols (Poland) against their chemical properties

Abstract

The research results have shown that the enzyme pH index (0.49-0.83) confirmed the neutral or alkaline nature of the soils. Neither the changes in the content of available phosphorus nor in the activity of dehydrogenases, catalase, alkaline and acid phosphatase in soil were due to the factors triggering soil salinity; they were a result of the naturally high content of carbon of organic compounds, which was statistically verified with the analysis of correlation between the parameters. There were recorded highly significant values of the coefficients of correlation between the content of available phosphorus in soil and the activity of alkaline (r = 0.96; P < 0.05) and acid phosphatase (r = 0.91; P < 0.05) as well as dehydrogenase (r = 0.90; P < 0.05). To sum up, one can state that Mollic Gleysols in Inowrocław are the soils undergoing seasonal salinity; however, a high content of ions responsible for salinity is balanced with a high content of organic carbon, humus, phosphorus and calcium directly affecting the fertility of the soils analyzed. The activity of the enzymes depended on the natural content of carbon of organic compounds and not on the factors affecting the soil salinity, which points to the potential of such tests for soil environment monitoring.