Table 1 Chemical properties and enzyme activities of soils at three sampling zones (inside, ring-edge, or outside)
From: Assessing soil microbes that drive fairy ring patterns in temperate semiarid grasslands
| Â | Inside | Ring-edge | Outside (control) |
|---|---|---|---|
pH | 8.25 ± 0.10c | 8.58 ± 0.06b | 8.98 ± 0.10a |
EC (electric conductivity) | 229.74 ± 35.39b | 354.28 ± 24.13a | 266.36 ± 10.46ab |
Soil water content (%) | 9.65 ± 0.73 | 8.94 ± 0.24 | 8.61 ± 0.03 |
Total N (µg g− 1 dry soil, TN) | 2256.04 ± 260.27 | 2155.94 ± 206.02 | 2551.06 ± 347.90 |
Total P (µg g− 1 dry soil, TP) | 481.02 ± 20.62 | 482.67 ± 21.16 | 490.89 ± 27.06 |
TN:TP ratio | 4.66 ± 0.56 | 4.48 ± 0.49 | 5.20 ± 0.71 |
\({\text{NH}}_{4}^{+}\)-N (µg g− 1 dry soil) | 11.77 ± 1.16b | 29.46 ± 4.78a | 9.14 ± 1.97b |
\({\text{NO}}_{3}^{-}\)-N (µg g− 1 dry soil) | 12.87 ± 3.37 | 7.57 ± 1.34 | 7.02 ± 3.79 |
AN (\({\text{NH}}_{4}^{+}\)-N + \({\text{NO}}_{3}^{-}\)-N, µg g− 1 dry soil) | 24.64 ± 2.45ab | 38.37 ± 4.62a | 16.17 ± 3.63b |
Plant-available P (µg g− 1 dry soil, AP) | 4.66 ± 0.47a | 4.98 ± 0.33a | 2.94 ± 0.14b |
AN:AP ratio | 4.96 ± 0.40 | 7.49 ± 0.90 | 5.53 ± 1.23 |
Saccharase activity (mg glucose g− 1 24 h− 1) | 38.59 ± 4.22 | 37.14 ± 5.75 | 34.39 ± 8.49 |
Urease activity (µg \({\text{NH}}_{3}^{-}\)N g− 1 3 h− 1) | 12.19 ± 2.17 | 10.53 ± 1.51 | 11.68 ± 2.78 |
Alkaline phosphatase activity (µmol phenol g− 1 24 h− 1) | 22.50 ± 0.39ab | 24.18 ± 0.34a | 20.98 ± 0.424b |