HOME JOURNALS CONTACT

International Journal of Soil Science

Year: 2006 | Volume: 1 | Issue: 1 | Page No.: 20-26
DOI: 10.3923/ijss.2006.20.26
Enzyme Activities of Laterite Soils as Influenced by Trace Element Contamination
S. Venkatesan and V. K. S enthurpandian

Abstract: The current study aimed to find out the effect of Cu2+, Mn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Mo6+ and Al3+ at 25 and 75 μmole concentrations on acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, aryl sulfatase and urease activities in the tea soils of south India. Soil samples, collected from four different zones, were contaminated with equimolar concentrations (25 and 75 μmole) of the above mentioned trace elements. In the absence of contamination, acid phosphatase activity was higher than alkaline phosphatase activity. Similarly aryl sulfatase activity and urease activity were higher in the soils of Munnar and Nilgiris, respectively. The acid and alkaline phosphatase activities were inhibited effectively by Cu in the soils of Anamallais and Munnar and by manganese in the case of Nilgiris. Zinc inhibited aryl sulfatase activity to a very large extent in the soils of Munnar and Vandiperiyar and molybdenum in the case of Nilgiris. Inhibition of aryl sulfatase activity was as high as 79% due to addition of copper. Urease activity was the highest in Nilgiris followed by Vandiperiyar and its inhibition was up to 81% due to copper contamination. Zinc was an effective inhibitor in Anamallais and Munnar, whereas Al and Mn played significant roles in the soils of Nilgiris and Vandiperiyar, respectively.

Fulltext PDF Fulltext HTML

How to cite this article
S. Venkatesan and V. K. S enthurpandian, 2006. Enzyme Activities of Laterite Soils as Influenced by Trace Element Contamination. International Journal of Soil Science, 1: 20-26.

Related Articles:
© Science Alert. All Rights Reserved