Enzymatic Activities Related to the Decomposition of Coniferous Leaf Litter
1977
Spalding, Brian P.
The rate of CO₂ evolution at 23°C and 75% moisture content for a diverse group of coniferous leaf litter samples from Oregon was measured. Significant correlations (1% level) were observed between the rate of CO₂ evolution and the activity of amylase, cellulase, and xylanase (r = 0.71, 0.58, and 0.44, respectively) in 0.05M potassium acetate, pH 5.0 extracts of the litter. The amounts of extractable hexose, phenolics, and reducing substances were also correlated with the rate of CO₂ evolution (r = 0.74, 0.53, and 0.73 respectively). Peroxidase and invertase activities were not correlated with the rate of CO₂ evolution. Litter extracts showed zero-order kinetics for the hydrolysis of carboxymethylcellulose, xylan, starch, and sucrose. All carbohydrase activities were destroyed by a 15 min exposure to a boiling water bath.
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