Soil enzyme

Soil enzymes are a group of enzymes found in soil. They are excreted by soil microbes such as fungi, bacteria and archaea, and play a key role in decomposing soil organic matter into humus, in the process releasing nutrients essential for the growth of plants. Some soil enzymes such as ureases may be inhibited by ingredients in fertiliser to delay release of the nutrients over an extended period.

Distribution

The distribution of soil enzymes is highly heterogeneous, varying at millimetric scale according to the distribution of patches of nutrients and microbial biomass, plant roots, or colonies of specific microorganisms. Root tips are hotspots of cellulase and chitinase activities. Soil enzymes are bound to clay and humic colloids which protect them against rapid degradation, although to the detriment of their activity with clay minerals, resulting in a trade-off between protection and activity. Soil enzymes also varies in concentration at meter (single-tree) to kilometer (catchment) scales in forested areas, with patterns of spatial variation specific to each enzyme system, and according to biomes in a given region.

Functions

Soil enzymes catalyse many biochemical reactions, degrading organic compounds (e.g. cellulose, lignin, starch, urea) and thus being prominent agents of nutrient cycles (e.g. carbon and nitrogen cycles). Soil enzymes are intracellular, cell-associated or free enzymes produced by soil microorganisms, which use them to degrade macromolecules (e.g. cellulose, lignin, chitin) after-death produced by plants and animals, in order to ensure their growth and reproduction. As such they play a decisive role in the maintenance of soil health.

References

  1. ↑ Ladd, J. N. (1985). "Soil enzymes". In Vaughan, D.; Malcolm, R. E. (eds.). Soil organic matter and biological activity. Developments in plant and soil sciences. Vol. 16. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. pp. 175–221. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5105-1_6. ISBN 978-94-009-5105-1. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  2. ↑ Tabatabai, M. Ali (1994). "Soil enzymes". In Weaver, Richard W.; Angle, Scott; Bottomley, Peter; Bezdicek, David; Smith, Scott; Tabatabai, Ali; Wollum, Art (eds.). Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Microbiological and biochemical properties. SSSA book series. Vol. 5. Madison, Wisconsin: Soil Science Society of America. pp. 775–833. doi:10.2136/sssabookser5.2.c37. ISBN 9780891188650. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  3. ↑ Das, Shonkor Kumar; Varma, Ajit (2011). "Role of enzymes in maintaining soil health". In Shukla, Girish; Varma, Ajit (eds.). Soil enzymology. Soil biology. Vol. 22. Berlin, Germany: Springer. pp. 25–42. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14225-3_2. ISBN 978-3-642-14225-3. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  4. ↑ Burns, Richard G.; DeForest, Jared L.; Marxsen, Jürgen; Sinsabaugh, Robert L.; Stromberger, Mary E.; Wallenstein, Matthew D.; Weintraub, Michael N.; Zoppini, Annamaria (March 2013). "Soil enzymes in a changing environment: current knowledge and future directions". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 58: 216–34. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.11.009. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  5. ↑ Dotaniya, M. L.; Aparna, K.; Dotaniya, C. K.; Singh, Mahendra; Regar, K. L. (2019). "Role of soil enzymes in sustainable crop production". In Kuddus, Mohammed (ed.). Enzymes in food biotechnology: production, applications, and future prospects. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. pp. 569–89. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-813280-7.00033-5. ISBN 978-0-12-813280-7. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  6. ↑ Baldrian, Petr (January–February 2014). "Distribution of extracellular enzymes in soils: spatial heterogeneity and determining factors at various scales". Soil Science Society of America Journal. 78 (1): 11–8. doi:10.2136/sssaj2013.04.0155dgs.
  7. ↑ Spohn, Marie; Kuzyakov, Yakov (6 February 2014). "Spatial and temporal dynamics of hotspots of enzyme activity in soil as affected by living and dead roots: a soil zymography analysis". Plant and Soil. 379 (1–2): 67–77. doi:10.1007/s11104-014-2041-9. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Nannipieri, Paolo; Sequi, P.; Fusi, P. (1996). "Humus and enzyme activity". In Piccolo, Alessandro (ed.). Humic substances in terrestrial ecosystems. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. pp. 293–328. doi:10.1016/B978-044481516-3/50008-6. ISBN 978-0-444-81516-3. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  9. ↑ Burns, Richard G. (1982). "Enzyme activity in soil: location and a possible role in microbial ecology". Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 14 (5): 423–7. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(82)90099-2. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Naidja, Abdallah; Huang, P. M.; Bollag, Jean-Marc (May–June 2000). "Enzyme-clay interactions and their impact on transformations of natural and anthropogenic organic compounds in soil". Journal of Environmental Quality. 29 (3): 677–91. doi:10.2134/jeq2000.00472425002900030002x. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  11. ↑ Decker, Kelly L. M.; Boerner, Ralph E. J.; Morris, Sherri Jeakins (February 1999). "Scale-dependent patterns of soil enzyme activity in a forested landscape". Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 29 (2): 232–41. doi:10.1139/x98-192. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Zimmer Barbosa, Julierme; Poggere, Giovana; Corrêa, Rodrigo Studart; Hungria, Mariangela; Mendes, Ieda de Carvalho (October 2023). "Soil enzymatic activity in Brazilian biomes under native vegetation and contrasting cropping and management". Applied Soil Ecology. 190 105014. doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2023.105014. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  13. ↑ Rao, Cherukumalli Srinivasa; Grover, Minakshi; Kundu, Sumanta; Desai, Susheelendra (2017). "Soil enzymes". In Lal, Rattan (ed.). Encyclopedia of soil science (3rd ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. pp. 2100–7. doi:10.1081/E-ESS3-120052906. ISBN 9781315161860. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Das, Shonkor Kumar; Varma, Ajit (2011). "Role of enzymes in maintaining soil health". In Shukla, Girish; Varma, Ajit (eds.). Soil enzymology. Soil biology. Vol. 22 (1st ed.). Berlin, Germany: Springer. pp. 25–42. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14225-3_2. ISBN 978-3-642-14224-6. Retrieved 6 March 2026.