Spatio-temporal variation in soil microbial biomass and enzymatic activity in different forest ecosystem of North-India

Abstract

Background & Aim: The present study compared the soil microbial biomass, enzymatic activity and the nutrient
accessibility under different location covering dry deciduous and temperate forest of North-India. Also, the temporal
variation was evaluated for two consecutive years during the pre and post monsoon season. Results: The results
indicated significant temporal and spatial variation among the soil characteristics and the availability of nutrients. Soil
microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous ranged from 151.63 - 471.1, 36.56 - 88.68 and 15.73 - 62.18 μg
g-1. Acid phosphatese activity was highest in forest stand 4 and lowest in forest stand 1, while the value of β-
glucosidase activity was recorded maximum at forest stand 5 i.e. 1514.95 μg g-1 h-1 whereas the lower value was in
forest stand 1 i.e. 582.23 μg g-1 h-1. Furthermore, the dehydrogenase(DHA) activity ranged from 38.61 - 497.78 μg g-1
h-1 and 158.14 - 707.37 μg g-1 h-1 for the two seasons with lowest value at forest stand 1 and highest at forest stand 4.
Similarly, the estimated protease and flurosceindiacetate (FDA) activity was high at forest stand 4. Comparison
among different soil properties was markedly higher during the pre-monsoon season and it decreases along the forest
stand located in dry deciduous region during the study period. Conclusion: The higher microbial biomass and
enzymatic activities at forest stand resides in temperate region suggested the higher nutrient availability and soil
fertility in temperate forest