Assessment of soil enzyme activities based on soil samples from the Beas River bed, India using multivariate techniques
2016
Kumar, V. | Sharma, A. | Thukral, A. K. | Bhardwaj R.
This study was aimed at assessing soil enzyme activities in the Beas River bed for the pre-monsoon, post-monsoon and winter seasons. Soil samples were collected in triplicates from four sites for each season and analysed for 21 soil characteristics. The soil enzymes assessed were urease, catalase, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and invertase. The hypothesis tested was that the enzyme activities are determined by soil characteristics and other environmental variables. Data were analysed using analysis of variance, multiple comparison test, cluster analysis, principal component analysis, stepwise multiple linear regression analysis and artificial neural networks. It was concluded from the study that maximum soil urease, PPO and invertase activities occurred during the winter season. There were two factors underlying the enzyme activities: factor-1 for urease and catalase, and factor-2 for PPO and invertase. Urease activity was increased to a maximum by the phosphate content of the soil, an important component of animal excreta. Nickel and Cu are the prosthetic groups of urease and PPO which contributed a maximum to the activities of the respective enzymes.
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