• Characteristics of Microbial Community Enzyme Activity and Substrate Availability of Damaged Soil

  • Ji Seul Kim1·Gyo-Cheol Jeong2·Myoung Hyeon Cho3·Eun Young Lee4*

  • 1Doctoral Program, Department of Environmental Engineering, The University of Suwon, Korea
    2Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Andong National University, Korea
    3Director, NEXUS Environmental Design Center, Korea
    4The University of Suwon, Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Professor, Korea

  • 훼손 토양의 미생물군집 효소 활성과 기질 이용성 특성

  • 김지슬1·정교철2·조명현3·이은영4*

  • 1수원대학교 환경공학과 박사과정, 2안동대학교 환경공학과, 명예교수,
    3넥서스 환경디자인연구원 ㈜, 원장, 4수원대학교 환경에너지공학과, 교수

  • This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The effect of soil damage on the physicochemical characteristics and activity of the soil microbial community is not well known. This study investigates this relationship by analyzing 11 soil samples collected from various points of soil damage across Gyeonggi-do. Soil damage resulted from forest fires, landslides, and development areas, with their impacts most severe on the topsoil layer (0-30 cm). Dehydrogenase and b-glucosidase activities were notably higher at locations damaged by forest fires compared to other sites. While enzyme activities in soils influenced by landslides and development areas were relatively low, sites with a pollution history exhibited elevated dehydrogenase activity, likely due to past microbial response to the pollution. Additionally, an assessment of carbon substrate usability by soil microorganisms indicated higher substrate availability in areas impacted by forest fires, contrasting with lower availability in landslide and development sites. Statistical analysis revealed a positive correlation between organic content of sand and clay and microbial activity. These findings provide valuable insights into soil damage and associated restoration research, as well as management strategies.


Keywords: Damaged soil, Dehydrogenase, b-glucosidase, Soil microbial community, Biological indicator

This Article

  • 2023; 28(5): 68-77

    Published on Oct 31, 2023

  • 10.7857/JSGE.2023.28.5.068
  • Received on Oct 11, 2023
  • Revised on Oct 17, 2023
  • Accepted on Oct 24, 2023

Correspondence to

  • Eun Young Lee

  • 4The University of Suwon, Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Professor, Korea

  • E-mail: ley@suwon.ac.kr