Beta-Glucosidase Activity in Paddy Soils of the Taihu Lake Region, China

The profile distribution of β-gulcosidase activity in twelve typical paddy soil profiles with high productivity in the Taihu Lake region of China were investigated. Activities of β-gulcosidase in the plow layers were in the range of 52.68- 137.02μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1 with a mean of 89.22μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1. However, most plow layers ranged from 70 to 110 μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1. The profile distribution of β-gulcosidase activity in the 12 soil profiles decreased rapidly with soil depth, with activity at the 60 cm depth only about 10% of that in the surface layers （0-15 cm or 0-20 cm）. In these soil profiles, β-gulcosidase activity was significantly positively correlated with soll organic carbon and arylsulphatase activity. Meanwhile, a significantly negative correlation was shown between β-gulcosidase activity and soil pH.