Influence of metal chromium on the activity of soil enzyme

Thirty-five soils were sampled from three sites at different distances from chromium slag heap of a Iron-alloy factory, namely, nine from site A located under the chromium slag and eighteen from Site B in the vicinity of the factory and eight from site C far from the factory. The contents of total Cr in these soils from site A, B and C were 1666.0 +/- 1310.9 mg.kg(-1) 1,1136.2 +/- 1844.6 mg.kg(-1), 300.4 +/- 165.1 mg.kg(-1), respectively. The contents of water soluble Cr were 59.3 +/- 77.57 mg.kg(-1), 0.6 +/- 0.3 mg.kg(-1), 0.5 +/- 0.3 mg.kg(-1), respectively. In order to evaluate soil health, the activities of four soil enzymes (catalase, polyphenol oxidase, dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatases) were analyzed. The results have shown that dehydrogenase activity was greatly depressed by conditions in the heavy chromium-contaminated sites. Negative correlation was observed between dehydrogenase activity and the distance from the chromium slag heap, however, the activities of catalase, polyphenol oxidase, alkaline phosphatases in soils from the three sampling sites mentioned above did not differ significantly. The result imply that of dehydrogenase activity could be used as an indicator for the chromium pollution level in the area of Iron-Alloy factory and for the stability level of the soil ecosystem.