AUTHOR=Taggart Megan G. , Baah Douglas S. , Allen Sophie , Khan Zahoor , Arnscheidt Joerg , Jordan Phil , O’Hagan Barry M. G. , Ibrahim Aliyu D. , Rao J. R. , Ternan Nigel G. 

TITLE=Fitting soil extracellular enzyme activity into the complex network of abiotic and biotic soil properties often associated with soil health

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1638267

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2025.1638267

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=In this mini review we examine how soil extracellular enzymes play a key role in nutrient cycling, but stress that their activity alone does not fully represent ecosystem processes. We emphasize the need for more contextual environmental data—such as pH, temperature, moisture and nutrient availability—for accurate interpretation of the significance of enzyme activity in carbon and nutrient (N, P) cycling in soil ecosystems. The importance of enzymes within the soil microbiome determines its inherent capacity to support crop growth and often reflects soil quality and soil health, which are in turn governed by multiple different soil properties. Soil enzymes (e.g., phosphatase, glucosidases, glycosaminidases) activity have been used as key soil health bio indicators for monitoring soil nutrient transformations in overgeneralized statements. Although soil enzymes constitute important attributes that are closely linked to the dynamics of soil nutrient transformation and make nutrients available to plants, we suggest a multi-factor assessment for soil health measurement. We propose that this can give a pulse reading of soil nutrient health at crucial times of soil, land use, and crop management practices but that care is required to incorporate temporal soil and land use properties for correct interpretation.