Abstract Successful agriculture is dependent on soil quality and nutrition. Soil is the primary source of nutrients that are assimilated by plant root-systems to promote plant growth and development. The availability of these soil nutrients is regulated by factors such as pH, microbial composition and soil nutrient enzyme activities in ecosystem soils. This study aim was to determine the nutrition, microbe composition, and soil enzyme activities in four soils from different KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) grassland and savannah ecosystems. The four sites were found to differ significantly in their physical, chemical and biological properties. Microorganisms identified in the soils were from the families Bacillaceae, Hypocreaceae, Mucoraceae, and Nectriaceae. Bacterial and fungal genera identified among these soils showed varying diversity and species richness. Bergville soils had the lowest pH, cation exchange capacity, micro, and macro nutrient concentrations. Furthermore, Bergville soils showed reduced asparaginase and lignin peroxidase activities and had the lowest dehydrogenase activities. Therefore Bergville soils showed the minimum geochemical properties which may affect the growth of grassland and savannah ecosystem vegetation and sustainable agricultural practices.

中文翻译：

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夸祖鲁-纳塔尔草原和热带草原生态系统土壤的土壤营养、微生物组成和相关土壤酶活性

摘要 成功的农业取决于土壤质量和营养。土壤是植物根系吸收养分以促进植物生长和发育的主要养分来源。这些土壤养分的有效性受生态系统土壤中 pH 值、微生物组成和土壤养分酶活性等因素的调节。本研究的目的是确定来自不同夸祖鲁-纳塔尔 (KZN) 草原和稀树草原生态系统的四种土壤的营养、微生物组成和土壤酶活性。发现这四个位点在物理、化学和生物特性方面存在显着差异。土壤中鉴定出的微生物来自芽孢杆菌科、木霉菌科、毛霉科和蜜桔科。在这些土壤中鉴定的细菌和真菌属显示出不同的多样性和物种丰富度。Bergville 土壤的 pH 值、阳离子交换能力、微量和大量养分浓度最低。此外，伯格维尔土壤的天冬酰胺酶和木质素过氧化物酶活性降低，脱氢酶活性最低。因此，伯格维尔土壤显示出可能影响草原和稀树草原生态系统植被生长和可持续农业实践的最小地球化学特性。