Activity of selected enzymes and phosphorus content in soils of former sulphur mines

This paper presents phosphorus content, the activity of enzymes, and relationships between chemical properties in former sulphur mine soil ecosystems. Soil sampled 16 years after the completion of open-pit mining works at Machów, and 7 years after sulphur mining by the "melting" method was abandoned in the Jeziórko mine. In these soil samples were determined content of total (TP), mineral (MP), organic (OP), available (AP) phosphorus, the activity of catalase (CAT), dehydrogenases (DHA), alkaline (AlP) and acid (AcP) phosphatase, and metabolic metabolic quotient (qCO₂). Total phosphorus content in samples from the Machów mine ranged from 0.297 to 0.392 g kg^-1. In the soil from the vicinity Jeziórko, TP content was in the range 0.329-0.460 g kg^-1. The content of AP in soil from the vicinity of Machów range from 10.77 to 43.44 mg kg^-1, and near the Jeziórko mine from 5.73 to 18.03 mg kg^-1. Availability factor (AF) for phosphorus was calculated, which was higher in soil under the impact of the Machów mine compared to the soil near the of Jeziórko mine. The activity of AlP in soil around the Jeziórko mine was lower than in soils sampled near the Machów mine. Enzymatic activity and total carbon content were used to calculate the biochemical activity index (BA12), which was higher in soils under the impact of the Machów mine. The value of metabolic quotient (qCO₂) was low in the upper layers of the clarifier (Machów) and also 10 and 40 m from the borehole Jeziórko. The highest value of this parameter was observed in soil from the post-process waste dump at Machów (3.6 μgCO₂ [μgC mic]^-1 h^-1). A long-term human impact significantly affected the soil phosphorus under study and the physico-chemical properties, which led to a change in the enzymatic activity of soil.