Soil enzymes are one of the vital key mediators involved in nutrient recycling and the decomposition of organic matter and thereby in maintaining soil quality and fertility. This Soil Biology volume covers the various facets of soil enzymes, such as their functions, biochemical and microbiological properties and the factors affecting their activities. Enzymes in the rhizosphere, in forest soils, and in volcanic ash-derived soils are described. Soil enzymes covered include phosphohydrolases, lignocellulose-degrading enzymes, phenol oxidases, fungal oxidoreductases, keratinases, pectinases, xylanases, lipases and pectinases. Several chapters treat the soil enzymatic activities in the bioremediation of soils contaminated with pesticides and pollutants such as oil, chlorinated compounds, synthetic dyes and aromatic hydrocarbons. The role of soil enzymes as bioindicators is a further important topic addressed.

Madhunita Bakshi and Ajit Varma: Soil Enzyme: The State ofArt

Shonkor Kumar Das and Ajit Varma: Role of Enzymes in Maintaining Soil Health
Wei Shi: Agricultural and Ecological Significance of Soil Enzymes: Soil Carbon Sequestration and Nutrient Cycling
Petr Baldrian and Martina Stursová: Enzymes in Forest Soils
Thanh H Dao: Extracellular Enzymes in Sensing Environmental Nutrients and Ecosystem Changes: Ligand Mediation in Organic Phosphorus Cycling
Annamaria Zoppini* and Jürgen Marxsen: Importance of Extracellular Enzymes for Biogeochemical Processes in Temporary River Sediments during Fluctuating Dry-Wet Conditions
Ayten Karaca*, Sema Camci Cetin, Oguz Can Turgay and Ridvan Kizilkaya: Soil Enzymes as Indication of Soil Quality
Egamberdieva Dilfuza*, Giancarlo Renella, Stephan Wirth and Rafiq Islam: Enzyme Activities in the Rhizosphere of Plants
Petr Baldrian* and Jaroslav Snajdr: Lignocellulose-degrading Enzymes in Soils
A.G.Zavarzina: Heterophase Synthesisof Humic Acids in Soils by Immobilized Phenol Oxidases
A G Zavarzina*, A A Lisov, A A Zavarzina, A A Leontievsky: Fungal Oxidoreductases and Humification in Forest Soils
Steven D. Allison* Michael N. Weintraub Tracy B and Gartner Mark P. Waldrop: Evolutionary-economic Principles As Regulators of Soil Enzyme Production and Ecosystem Function
Matthew Wallenstein*, Steven Allison, Jessica Ernakovich, J. Megan Steinweg and Robert Sinsabaugh: Controls on the Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Enzymes: A Key Driver of in-situ Enzyme Activity Rates
V.Suneetha* and Zaved Ahmed Khan: Actinomycetes-Sources for Soil Enzymes
Andrew R. Zimmerman* and Mi-Youn Ahn: Organo-mineral-enzyme Interaction and Soil Enzyme Activity
Liliana Gianfreda* and Maria A. Rao: The Influence of Pesticides on Soil Enzymes
Analí Rosas*, Ada López and Roxana López: Behaviour of Enzymatic Activity in Chilean Volcanic Soil and Their Interactions with Clay Fraction
V. Suneetha* and Zaved Ahmed Khan:Screening, Characterisation and Optimization of Microbial Pectinase
Rajani Malla, Utprekshya Pokharel, Ram Prasad and Ajit Varma: Molecular Techniques to Study Polymorphism between Closely Related Microorganisms in Relation to Specific Protein Phosphatase
Natalia N. Pozdnyakova*, Ekaterina V. Dubrovskaya, Oleg E. Makarov, Valentina E. Nikitina, Olga V. Turkovskaya: Production of ligninolytic enzymes by white rot fungi during bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil.