Agriculture Reference
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Moreover, seasonality in enzyme activity during organic matter decay appeared only in
Mediterranean area. In other areas, in fact, the activity of cellulase increased as
decomposition progressed until a maximum and, then, rapidly declined (Linkins and
Sinsabaugh 1990; Sinsabaugh et al., 1992).
xylanase
cellulase
60
M.communis
C.incanus
Cistus under .Myrtus
50
Q.ilex:
CV
BSS
VES
40
30
20
10
b
a
0
peroxidase
laccase
400
300
200
100
c
d
0
α
-amilase
β
-amilase
2
1.5
1
0.5
e
f
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
decomposition time (days)
Figure 8. Enzyme activities (cellulase, xylanase, laccase, peroxidase, α-amylase, β-amylase) changes
during leaf litter decomposition of
Cistus
incanus
(in both incubation microsites, such as under
Cistus
and
Myrtus
shrubs)
and
Myrtus
communis
in a Mediterranean maquis and of
Quercus ilex
in three
holm-oak woods of South Italy. Data from Fioretto et al., 2001; Papa, 2000.
The presence of cellulase and xylanase in the early stage of decomposition supports the
view that cellulose and xylan are among the first decomposed compounds and their
persistence also after about 2 years could be due to no exhausting decomposing substrates
(Figure 4) (Fioretto et al. 2005 a). Even if some species of fungi synthesize the enzymatic
complexes that hydrolysed, in particular, the cellulose and the hemicellulose (Joshi et al.,
1993), no correlation was found among these activities and fungal biomass.
