Soil Enzymes

Nutrient cycling in soils involves biochemical, chemical, and physicochemical reactions, with the biochemical processes being mediated by microorganisms, plant roots, and soil animals. It is well known that all biochemical reactions are catalyzed by enzymes, which are proteins with catalytic properties owing to their power of specific activation. Enzymes are catalysts, that is, they are substances that without undergoing permanent alteration cause chemical reactions to proceed at faster rates. Enzymes are specific activators in that they combine with their substrates in such a stereospecific fashion that they cause changes in the electronic configuration around certain susceptible bonds. Although there are reports on extraction of enzymes from soils, no soil enzyme has been purified to the extent of those extracted from microorganisms, plant, and animal tissues. The subject of enzyme inhibition requires special consideration, because soils receive a variety of organic and inorganic chemicals.