The Biochemical Activity of Litter as an Indicator of Soil Quality in Pine Forests of Eastern Fennoscandia
Abstract
Using the example of ferruginous illuvial podzols and podzolized podburs (Albic Podzol and Entic Podzol), the biochemical activity of forest litter was studied in gradients of: (1) edaphic and climatic conditions and (2) anthropogenic pollution. First, Blueberry (BP), lingonberry (LinP), and lichen (LicP) pine forests from the middle subzone of the taiga were the objects of the study, along with LinP located in the middle and northern taiga forests (Karelia) and on the border of the taiga and forest-tundra (Murmansk region). Second, there are pine forests at different distances from the zone of influence of the Pechenganikel mining and metallurgical plant. The study examined how the “ground cover – litter” system affected soil enzymes and chemical properties (pH, C, N, P, K, S, Cu, Ni). It was shown that in the LinP of the middle subzone of the taiga, the activity of invertase and phosphatase in the forest litter was 1.5–1.8 times higher compared to the BP and LinP. Changes in climatic conditions (a decrease in average daily temperature by 2–3°C) were accompanied by a decrease in the activity of catalase by 58 and 69%, urease by 43 and 52%, and invertase by 51 and 28%. It has been suggested that the absence of significant differences in the activity of the studied enzymes in the forest litter, depending on the accumulation of copper and nickel in it, may indicate a high adaptive potential of the microorganisms – soil system. The possibility of using soil biochemical activity in monitoring studies of the state of forest biogeocenoses is discussed.