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Impact of Different Land Use Management on Soil Enzyme Activities in Missouri River Floodplains
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  • Jamshid Ansari,
  • Frieda Eivazi,
  • Stephen Anderson,
  • Sougata Bardhan
Jamshid Ansari
School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

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Frieda Eivazi
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
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Stephen Anderson
School of Natural Resources
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Sougata Bardhan
College of Agriculture
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Abstract

Land management activities that provide higher soil organic carbon stimulate microbial activity and enzymatic reactions. Riparian forest, agroforestry, and row-crop agriculture treatments are among common land-use systems in the lower Missouri River Floodplain (MRF) region in New Franklin, MO. The study of soil enzyme activities under different land use in this region is of importance for monitoring soil quality and evaluation of climatic changes on soil health. This investigation aimed to characterize soil properties such as soil C and N, porosity, moisture content under three-land use (agroforestry, riparian forest, and agriculture) and correlate their influence on soil microbial communities and enzyme activities. Soil samples were collected from the three land management systems, and enzyme activity was measured in three seasons of Fall 2019, Summer 2020, and Spring 2021. Results revealed significantly higher levels of β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, and dehydrogenase activity in agroforestry (AF) and riparian forest (RF) treatments relative to agriculture (AG) management in all three studied seasons. Dehydrogenase activity was higher (p<0.0001) in RF relative to AF and AG sites. Efforts to incorporate perennial management systems in river-floodplain landscapes will help increase organic matter content, which stimulates microbial diversity and soil enzyme activity as well as improving the performance of conservation buffers. The study concluded that tree-based AF systems enhance soil physicochemical and biological properties.