Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXI
Written by Maria-Mihaela MICUȚI, Liliana BĂDULESCU, Florentina ISRAEL-ROMING

Soil is a dynamic, living, natural system that is vital to the function of terrestrial ecosystems. Soil health is maintained by physical, chemical and biological factors. Physical factors include bulk density and soil porosity, indicators of soil compaction. Chemical factors (soil pH, inorganic nitrogen, available minerals and organic carbon content) provide information for the balance of soil solution and exchange sites. Biological and biochemical factors like microbial biomass, soil respiration, potentially mineralised nitrogen and activity of soil enzymes indicate the soil’s ability to function or recover from disturbance such as climate change, pest infestation, pollution and human exploitation in agriculture. The enzymes play an important role in the decomposition and recycling of nutrients from dead plants and animal tissues, the fixation of nitrogen, the maintenance of soil structure and the inhibiting effects of pollutants. Therefore, the activity of soil enzymes can be used as an indicator of soil quality. This review is focused on the activity of some defining soil enzymes like β-glucosidases, cellulases, amylases, phosphatases, ureases, dehydrogenases, arylsulfatases and peroxidases, their importance in maintaining the soil health and their sources (plants, animals, organic compounds and especially microorganisms).It also offers information on a variety of methods developed to measure enzymes activity which can give relative information about the ecological status of soils.

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