Soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity in six Brazilian oxisols under cropland and native vegetation

ABSTRACT Oxisols are important soils that have been converted from native vegetation to croplands, and can affect soil biological properties such as microbial biomass and enzyme activity. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the changes on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity when native vegetation (NV) was converted to cropland (CL), such as maize or sugarcane in six oxisols from São Paulo state, Brazil. Soil microbial biomass C (MBC) and N (MBN), and the activity of arylsulphatase, dehydrogenase and fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDA) were assessed in samples collected at 0-...