Plant Diversity and Species Composition in Relation to Soil Enzymatic Activity in the Novel Ecosystems of Urban–Industrial Landscapes

Wojciech Bierza, Joanna Czarnecka (), Agnieszka Błońska, Agnieszka Kompała-Bąba, Agnieszka Hutniczak, Bartosz Jendrzejek, Jawdat Bakr, Andrzej M. Jagodziński, Dariusz Prostański and Gabriela Woźniak ()
Additional contact information
Wojciech Bierza: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Joanna Czarnecka: Department of Botany, Mycology and Ecology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 19 Akademicka Str., 20-033 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Błońska: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Agnieszka Kompała-Bąba: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Agnieszka Hutniczak: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Bartosz Jendrzejek: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Jawdat Bakr: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland
Andrzej M. Jagodziński: Department of Ecology, Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 5 Parkowa Str., 62-035 Kórnik, Poland
Dariusz Prostański: KOMAG Institute of Mining Technology, 37 Pszczynska Str., 44-101 Gliwice, Poland
Gabriela Woźniak: Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, 28 Jagiellońska Str., 40-032 Katowice, Poland

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: The primary producers and processes of matter and energy flow, reflected by the soil enzyme activity, are the basics of all ecosystem functioning processes. This paper reviews the relationships between the plant diversity, the physicochemical substrate parameters, and the soil enzymatic activity in novel ecosystems of the urban–industrial landscape, where the factors driving soil enzyme activity are not fully understood and still need to be studied. The relationship between the biotic and abiotic factors in the development of novel ecosystems on de novo established habitats, e.g., sites of post-mineral excavation, are shaped in ways unknown from the natural and the semi-natural habitats. The main criteria of de novo established ecosystems are the vegetation patches of the non-analogous species composition created as a result of human impact. The non-analogous species assemblages are associated with different microorganism communities because the biomass and the biochemistry of soil organic matter influence the enzyme activity of soil substrates. Moreover, the soil enzyme activity is an indicator that can dynamically reflect the changes in the microbial community structure dependent on the best-adapted plant species, thanks to the particular traits and individual adaptive adjustments of all the plant species present. This way, soil enzyme activity reflects the sum and the interactions of the elements of the ecosystem structure, irrespective of the vegetation history and the habitat origin.

Keywords: soil dehydrogenase; soil phosphatase; soil substratum; physicochemical parameters; ruderal sites; vegetation; coal mine heaps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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