ROOT-GROWTH, MICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND PHOSPHATASE-ACTIVITY IN OIL-CONTAMINATED, REMEDIATED AND UNCONTAMINATED SOILS PLANTED TO BARLEY AND FIELD PEA

Biological properties of soil are not only essential for the maintenance of soil fertility and the sustainability of the plant-soil ecosystems, but also indicators of land reclamation of contaminated or disturbed soils. This experiment involves two plants (barley and field pea) growing in four soils with different hydrocarbon contents. The objective was to study the effect of hydrocarbons on plant growth and microbial activity, and to evaluate the acid phosphatase activity as an indicator of reclamation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. Barley root mass decreased with the increase of the hydrocarbon content but field pea roots were not sensitive to the hydrocarbon content in this experiment. The hydrocarbon contamination reduced the plant growth but increased the microbial activity. The acid phosphatase activity was controlled by both plant root production and microbial activity, therefore it was not a good indicator of the reclamation of oil-contaminated soils.