The sensitivity of soil enzymes to soil contamination with zinc was analyzed. A laboratory experiment was performed on sandy loam at pH 7.0, sampled from arable land at a depth of 0 to 20 cm. Soil samples were passed through a sieve with 2 mm mesh size and contaminated with the following zinc doses: 0, 300, 600, 1200 and 2400 mg Zn2+ kg-1 soil. Zinc was applied in the form of aqueous solution of ZnCl2. Soil was mixed thoroughly with zinc, and its moisture content was brought to 50% capillary water capacity. The samples were incubated at 25°C. Beakers with soil samples were weighed once a week to replenish evaporated water. The activity of soil enzymes: dehydrogenases, urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, catalase, arylsulfatase and b-glucosidase, was determined after 15, 30, 60 and 120 days of the experiment. The results were used to calculate soil resistance (RS), ED20 and ED50 values. The results of the study indicate that soil enzymes are characterized by varied sensitivity to excessive zinc concentrations, and that the RS index is a reliable measure of enzymatic responses to zinc pollution. The analyzed enzymes were classified in the following decreasing order in terms of their resistance to zinc: b-glucosidase> acid phosphatase > urease >arylsulfatase = alkaline phosphatase> catalase > dehydrogenases. Zinc continued to exert a negative effect on soil enzymes throughout the experiment (120 days). ED20 values for the analyzed enzymes in mg Zn2+ kg-1 DM soil were determined at: 103 for dehydrogenases, 184 for alkaline phosphatase, 233 for urease, 247 for arylsulfatase, 416 for acid phosphatase, 419 for catalase and 1373 for β-glucosidase.

19.3.2014