Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area
As they quickly respond to environmental conditions, soil enzymes, involved in nutrient cycles, are considered good indicators of soil quality. The Mediterranean area is a peculiar environment for climatic conditions and for fire frequency. Therefore, the research aimed to evaluate the role of seaso...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8342 |
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| author | Valeria Memoli Lucia Santorufo Giorgia Santini Paola Musella Rossella Barile Anna De Marco Gabriella Di Natale Marco Trifuoggi Giulia Maisto |
| author_facet | Valeria Memoli Lucia Santorufo Giorgia Santini Paola Musella Rossella Barile Anna De Marco Gabriella Di Natale Marco Trifuoggi Giulia Maisto |
| author_sort | Valeria Memoli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As they quickly respond to environmental conditions, soil enzymes, involved in nutrient cycles, are considered good indicators of soil quality. The Mediterranean area is a peculiar environment for climatic conditions and for fire frequency. Therefore, the research aimed to evaluate the role of seasonality and fire on enzymatic activities (i.e., hydrolase, dehydrogenase, and β-glucosidase) in soils covered by herbs, black locust, pine, and holm oak. In addition, the main soil abiotic properties that drive the enzymatic activities were also investigated. In order to achieve the aims, surface soils were collected in unburnt and burnt areas and characterized for water and organic matter contents, pH, concentrations of C and N, and available fractions of Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, and Pb. The results highlighted that the soil enzymatic activities were mainly affected by seasonality more than by fire; in unburnt soils, their main drivers were nutrient availabilities, whereas, in burnt soils they were pH, water and organic matter contents, C and N concentrations, and both nutrient and metal availabilities. Finally, holm oak, as compared with herbs, pine, and black locust, conferred higher stability to soils that were affected by seasonality and fire. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:56:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7331a8e85dc54dff89520d5a553dd6eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:56:08Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-7331a8e85dc54dff89520d5a553dd6eb2023-11-22T11:51:11ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-09-011118834210.3390/app11188342Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean AreaValeria Memoli0Lucia Santorufo1Giorgia Santini2Paola Musella3Rossella Barile4Anna De Marco5Gabriella Di Natale6Marco Trifuoggi7Giulia Maisto8Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyDipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyDipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyDipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyParco Nazionale del Vesuvio, Via Palazzo del Principe c/o Castello Mediceo, 80044 Ottaviano, NA, ItalyBAT Center—Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyDipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, NA, ItalyAs they quickly respond to environmental conditions, soil enzymes, involved in nutrient cycles, are considered good indicators of soil quality. The Mediterranean area is a peculiar environment for climatic conditions and for fire frequency. Therefore, the research aimed to evaluate the role of seasonality and fire on enzymatic activities (i.e., hydrolase, dehydrogenase, and β-glucosidase) in soils covered by herbs, black locust, pine, and holm oak. In addition, the main soil abiotic properties that drive the enzymatic activities were also investigated. In order to achieve the aims, surface soils were collected in unburnt and burnt areas and characterized for water and organic matter contents, pH, concentrations of C and N, and available fractions of Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, and Pb. The results highlighted that the soil enzymatic activities were mainly affected by seasonality more than by fire; in unburnt soils, their main drivers were nutrient availabilities, whereas, in burnt soils they were pH, water and organic matter contents, C and N concentrations, and both nutrient and metal availabilities. Finally, holm oak, as compared with herbs, pine, and black locust, conferred higher stability to soils that were affected by seasonality and fire.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8342hydrolasedehydrogenaseβ-glucosidasenutrient availabilitymetal availability |
| spellingShingle | Valeria Memoli Lucia Santorufo Giorgia Santini Paola Musella Rossella Barile Anna De Marco Gabriella Di Natale Marco Trifuoggi Giulia Maisto Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area Applied Sciences hydrolase dehydrogenase β-glucosidase nutrient availability metal availability |
| title | Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area |
| title_full | Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area |
| title_fullStr | Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area |
| title_full_unstemmed | Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area |
| title_short | Role of Seasonality and Fire in Regulating the Enzymatic Activities in Soils Covered by Different Vegetation in a Mediterranean Area |
| title_sort | role of seasonality and fire in regulating the enzymatic activities in soils covered by different vegetation in a mediterranean area |
| topic | hydrolase dehydrogenase β-glucosidase nutrient availability metal availability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8342 |
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