SOIL ENZYMES IN THE MANGROVES - ACTIVITIES AND THEIR RELATION TO RELEVANT SOIL PROPERTIES

We report here some basic but significant observations on enzyme activ ities ire soils of a few prominent mangroves in South Andamans. In ehs present study, soil enzymes important in nutrient cycling were assaye d in 5 major mangroves of South Andamans, and their activities related to relevant soil properties to derive relationships, if any. Overall, the mean enzyme activities varied among soils possibly due to variati ons in the levels of endoenzymes and accumulated enzymes in the soil m atrix. Nonsignificant relationship existed between enzyme activities a nd soil pH, However, all the enzymes showed positive and significant r elationships with organic nutrient forms like organic C, organic P and organic S, which indicated that soils with higher organic C stimulate d microbial activity and, therefore, provided a more conducive environ ment for enzyme synthesis and accumulation in the soil matrix of the m angroves.