2026-10-11T19:14:56Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34025258 2026-09-29T16:59:00Z category_4 category_8 category_272 category_873 category_39 category_734 portal_87 item_type_6 month_year_09_2026

Effects of copper and nickel on soil enzymatic activities and microbial relative abundance and diversity using the Illumina NovaSeq system Michael Suszter (25137983) Kabwe Nkongolo (2615158) Biochemistry Microbiology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Copper nickel soil metagenomics Illumina bacteria and fungi microbial communities enzyme activities heavy metals 16S V4 Soil microbial communities and extracellular enzymes are essential to nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning, yet their responses to elevated copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) remain incompletely understood. This study evaluated Cu and Ni effects on soil enzyme activities and microbial communities under controlled conditions. Soils were treated with copper sulphate (1300 mg kg−¹) or nickel sulphate (1600 mg kg−¹), with potassium sulphate and deionised water as controls, and incubated for 100 days. Enzyme activities associated with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and oxidative metabolism were quantified, while bacterial (16S rRNA) and fungal (ITS) communities were characterised using Illumina NovaSeq sequencing. Copper and nickel did not significantly alter enzyme activities, although potassium sulphate increased glycine aminopeptidase activity. In contrast, microbial communities responded to metal exposure. Dominant bacterial and fungal genera remained broadly consistent across treatments, but copper reduced dominant bacterial taxa and significantly decreased bacterial and fungal Shannon diversity. Weighted UniFrac analyses revealed community shifts, particularly in copper-treated soils. These findings indicate that microbial community composition was more responsive than enzyme activities to short-term metal exposure, suggesting that soil biochemical functioning remained resilient despite reduced microbial diversity. Integrating microbial and functional indicators may improve the assessment of soil responses to metal stress. 2026-09-29T16:59:00Z Text Journal contribution 10.6084/m9.figshare.34025258.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Effects_of_copper_and_nickel_on_soil_enzymatic_activities_and_microbial_relative_abundance_and_diversity_using_the_Illumina_NovaSeq_system/34025258 CC BY 4.0