ChileanJAR

The organic matter content and related biological activity in 13 volcanic ash soils were studied by determining the microbial biomass and the dehydrogenase and polyphenol-oxidase enzymatic activities. In addition, a study was done ofthe effect of glucose, nitrogen and phosphorous in a 4-month incubation period at controlled temperature and moisture. The study was done on cultivated and uncultivated soils to assess the effect on soil management. There was a direct relationship between the organic matter content and microbial biomass. The behavior of the biological activation of soils to the addition of substrates was variable and specific for each soil, there are no behavior patterns for soil families. Similarly, the optimization of environmental conditions oftemperature and moisture cause in some soils a high biological reactivation, although, other soils exhibit high stability.