Soil microbial and enzyme activities in different land use systems of the Northwestern Himalayas

Yasir Hanif Mir; Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie; Tajamul Islam Shah; Shabir Ahmed Bangroo; Shakeel Ahmad Mir; Aanisa Manzoor Shah; Fehim Jeelani Wani; Anzhen Qin; Shafeeq Ur Rahman

doi:10.7717/peerj.15993

Soil microbial and enzyme activities in different land use systems of the Northwestern Himalayas

PeerJ. 2023 Sep 26:11:e15993. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15993. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yasir Hanif Mir¹, Mumtaz Ahmad Ganie¹, Tajamul Islam Shah², Shabir Ahmed Bangroo², Shakeel Ahmad Mir², Aanisa Manzoor Shah¹, Fehim Jeelani Wani³, Anzhen Qin⁴, Shafeeq Ur Rahman^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
² Division of Soil Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
³ Division of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
⁴ Institute of Farmland Irrigation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Water Use and Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xinxiang, China.
⁵ School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, Guangdong, China.
⁶ MOE Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Soil microbial activity (SMA) is vital concerning carbon cycling, and its functioning is recognized as the primary factor in modifying soil carbon storage potential. The composition of the microbial community (MC) is significant in sustaining environmental services because the structure and activity of MC also influence nutrient turnover, distribution, and the breakdown rate of soil organic matter. SMA is an essential predictor of soil quality alterations, and microbiome responsiveness is imperative in addressing the escalating sustainability concerns in the Himalayan ecosystem. This study was conducted to evaluate the response of soil microbial and enzyme activities to land conversions in the Northwestern Himalayas (NWH), India. Soil samples were collected from five land use systems (LUSs), including forest, pasture, apple, saffron, and paddy-oilseed, up to a depth of 90 cm. The results revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in terms of dehydrogenase (9.97-11.83 TPF µg g^-1 day^-1), acid phosphatase (22.40-48.43 µg P-NP g^-1 h^-1), alkaline phosphatase (43.50-61.35 µg P-NP g^-1 h^-1), arylsulphatase (36.33-48.12 µg P-NP g^-1 h^-1), fluorescein diacetate hydrolase (12.18-21.59 µg g^-1 h^-1), bacterial count (67.67-123.33 CFU × 10⁶ g^-1), fungal count (19.33-67.00 CFU × 10⁵ g^-1), and actinomycetes count (12.00-42.33 CFU × 10⁴ g^-1), with the highest and lowest levels in forest soils and paddy-oilseed soils, respectively. Soil enzyme activities and microbial counts followed a pattern: forest > pasture > apple > saffron > paddy-oilseed at all three depths. Paddy-oilseed soils exhibited up to 35% lower enzyme activities than forest soils, implying that land conversion facilitates the depletion of microbiome diversity from surface soils. Additionally, reductions of 49.80% and 62.91% were observed in enzyme activity and microbial counts, respectively, with soil depth (from 0-30 to 60-90 cm). Moreover, the relationship analysis (principal component analysis and correlation) revealed a high and significant (p = 0.05) association between soil microbial and enzyme activities and physicochemical attributes. These results suggest that land conversions need to be restricted to prevent microbiome depletion, reduce the deterioration of natural resources, and ensure the sustainability of soil health.

Keywords: Arylsulphatase activity; Dehydrogenase activity; Ecosystem; Land use; Microbial population; Soil sustainability.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carbon Cycle*
Carbon* / analysis
Ecosystem*
Enzymes
Forests
India
Soil Microbiology*
Soil* / chemistry

Substances

Carbon
Soil
Enzymes

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Central Public-Interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, CAAS, FIRI2022–09). The Scientific and Technological Project of Henan Province (222102110175) and the Scientific and Technological Project of Xinxiang City (GG2021024) supported the APC. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.