ARS | Publication request: FLUORESCEIN DIACETATE HYDROLYSIS OF NATIVE AND CROPPED SOIL OF THE BRAZILIAN CERRADO

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 15, 1999
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The biological component of soil is key to many soil processes and overall soil quality. Soil enzyme assays can be used as soil quality indicators since they are closely related to other soil quality parameters such as organic carbon. We measured fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis on native and cropped soils from the Brazilian Cerrado. No-till cropping systems maintained higher enzyme activity in the top-soil compared to conventional tillage systems. In soils from the native Cerrado, soils within the same treatment varied considerably indicating variability in the soil biology between similar sites. Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis is a sensitive indicator of general soil enzyme activity and may be useful in tracking soil quality changes due to management or disturbance.