The Change of Catalase Enzyme Activity in Soils by The Land Use

Abstract

Analysing the factors driving the population size and activities of soil microorganisms is importantfor understanding the soil ecosystem’s structure and functioning. For this purpose, the soil enzymesare used as an indicator of soil microbial activity and soil fertility. Although there are many studieson the distribution and activities of various soil enzymes in soils under monoculture or cropalternation conditions, there are only few studies examining the ecological relationship in naturalecosystems, especially by using enzymes. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect ofdifferent land uses on the catalase enzyme activity in soil. For this purpose, the catalase enzymeactivities in soil samples taken from 0-5cm and 5-10cm depths in agricultural, forest, and pasturelands in north and south exposures were determined and the effects of different land use, exposure,and soil depth conditions on the enzyme activities were investigated. At the end of the study, it wasdetermined that the catalase enzyme activity significantly differed by the land use and the highestlevel of catalase enzyme activity in both south and north exposures and at both depth levels wasfound in forest soils, whereas the lowest level of activity was found in agricultural lands in northexposure and pasture soils in south exposure.