Seasonal effect of land use type on soil absolute and specific enzyme activities in a Brazilian semi-arid region

• Published in: Catena (Giessen) Vol. 172; pp. 397 - 407
• Main Authors: de Oliveira Silva, Érica, de Medeiros, Erika Valente, Duda, Gustavo Pereira, Junior, Mario Andrade Lira, Brossard, Michel, de Oliveira, Julyana Braga, dos Santos, Uemeson José, Hammecker, Claude
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.01.2019
• Subjects: Enzyme per unit of microbial biomass carbon; Enzyme per unit of soil organic carbon; Phosphatase; Semiarid; Urease; β-Glucosidase; β-Glucosidase; Urease; Phosphatase; Enzyme per unit of microbial biomass carbon; Semiarid; Enzyme per unit of soil organic carbon
• ISSN: 0341-8162; 1872-6887
• DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2018.09.007

Tropical environments are considerable contributors to overall soil carbon loss to the atmosphere. Land use effects on soil chemical attributes have been well documented mainly in humid environments; however, less attention has been paid to the changes in soil enzymatic activities in dry ecosystems that is a sensitive indicator in ecological processes, due to its importance in soil dynamics and microbial activity. The present study is part of interdisciplinary project that investigated the effect of land cover type and seasonal variation on absolute and specific enzymatic activities per unit of soil organic carbon (SOC) and per microbial biomass carbon (MBC). We assessed five different land use type (Tropical dry forest-TDF, protected area with Angico –ANA, protected area with Ipê-TAB, Scrub area-SCR and agricultural area with maize-M) and five areas of each land use in three layers: 0–0.05, 0.05–0.10 and 0.10–0.20 m. The samples were collected at rainy season 1 in April 2014 (RS1), dry season October 2015 (DS) and rainy season 1 April 2016 (RS2). The conversion of the preserved area provided a reduction in absolute enzymatic activities, especially in the SCR and M. The reductions were of 76% for β-glucosidase, 95% for urease and 72% for acid phosphatase. The specific enzymatic activities per unit of MBC increased with the change of soil use, except in M. The enzymatic activity per unit of SOC in the TDF area was higher in relation to the other areas evaluated, except for specific activity of acid phosphatase. The land use type influenced the absolute and specific soil enzyme activities, but not show a clear trend of seasonal effect. •Conversion of TDF to land uses leads to a drastic reduction in Luvisol chromic enzymatic activities.•Seasonality directly affects enzymatic activities mainly during rainy periods.•Seasonal effect of land use in Brazilian semiarid soils affects mainly C and N enzyme activities.