Assessment of soil microbial and enzyme activity in the rhizosphere zone under different land use/cover of a semi-arid ecosystem, India
Abstract Background Land use/cover changes and management practices are widely known to influence SOM quality and quantity. The present study investigated the effect of different land uses i.e. forests viz. mixed forest cover (MFC), Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC dominated forest cover (PFC), and cultivated viz. agriculture field (AF), vegetable filed (VF), respectively, on soil parameter, microbial activity, and enzymes involved in soil nutrient cycle in a semi-arid ecosystem.Results The results showed a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in soil carbon (SC), soil nitrogen (SN) content (~ 30–80%) and consequently the soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) (~ 70–80%), soil basal respiration (SBR), soil substrate induced-respiration (SSIR), and soil enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, and dehydrogenase) under cultivated sites in comparison to forest analogs due to land use management practices. Pearson’s correlation showed a positive correlation of SC with SMBC, SBR, and SSIR (P < 0.01) and enzymatic activities i.e. β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase (P < 0.05) suggesting the critical role of SC in regulating microbial and enzymatic activity. Also, a positive correlation of SM with urease (P < 0.01) was observed indicating the importance of soil abiotic factors in controlling enzymatic activities. Additionally, based on the PCA analysis, we observed the clustering of SMBC/SC ratio and qCO2 nearby AF.Conclusion Our study suggested that degraded sites are more sensitive to the land management practices and land use changes and needed immediate attention in future studies related to SC dynamics in semi-arid ecosystems.