THE EFFECT OF LITTER INPUT ON SOIL ENZYME ACTIVITY IN AN OAK FOREST

We examined the effect of litter layer on the soil phosphatase and beta-glucosidase activity. The following soil characteristics were also measured during the study: soil temperature, Moisture, pH, respiration, bacterial and fungal count, carbon and organic matter content. The study site is in North-East of Hungary (Sik fokut Project). The long-term litter manipulation field experiment is part of ILTER Detritus Input and Removal Treatments (DIRT) Project. Soil samples were taken 16 times during the five-year experimental period, Our results suggested that the various treatments influenced the enzyme activity. We found significant differences in the enzyme activity of the treatments after three years. The lowest average activity was measured in the No Root plots, the highest in the Double Wood plots. The soil organic matter and carbon content was more important factor than the temperature.