The aim of research work was to determine the most important physical, chemical and microbiological properties of five different soil types - erubase, rendzina, solonchak, meadow solonetz, and calcareous chernozems - located in Hungary and make a comparison among the properties. The first four soil types have extreme physical and chemical properties, all was natural grassland, the fifth one was a cultivated chernozem soil from a fertilization experiment, and the control and two different dosages of fertilizer treatments were used for investigation. In order to measure the effect of relief on soil properties, two soil samples were taken from every soil type, one from a higher, one from the deeper exposure, except the calcareous chernozem. Results were evaluated and among the soil parameters significant differences were measured at 5%-level in the majority of the cases. Large differences were experienced among the properties, especially in the texture, pH, humus and nutrient content. The texture was measured from sandy loam to heavy clay; pH-values were from acidic to alkaline. Microelement content generally was higher in the natural soil, than in the cultivated ones, especially the zinc and manganese content. Regarding the microbiological properties of soils, the quantity of soil microorganisms (total number of bacteria and microscopic fungi) was higher in soils with native vegetation, than in the cultivated soils. Parallel with it, the measured enzymes activities – phosphatase, saccharase, urease and catalase - also were generally higher in the natural soils, than in the cultivated ones, one exception is the salt effected solonchak soil. In contrast with it, the numbers of two important physiological groups of bacteria - cellulose decomposing and nitrifying bacteria - were higher in the cultivated soils. When we compared the different results within one soil type, higher number of microorganisms and more intensive microbial activity was measured in the soil from higher exposure, than in soil from deeper exposure. It means that the microrelief has great importance in the occurrence and activity of living organisms of soil. The soil properties restrict hardly the possibilities of plant production, grassland or forests could be found in those places, where some soil physical and chemical properties are extreme, but at the same time these soils have high microbiological activity.

Physical and chemical features of soils, plant covering, micro- and mezorelief, occurrence of soil microorganisms, microbial activity of soils, soil enzymes.

Presentation: oral