Combined effects of cadmium and butachlor on soil enzyme activities and microbial community structure

The combined effects of cadmium (Cd, 10 mg/kg of soil) and butachlor (5, 10 and 50 mg/kg of soil) on enzyme activities and microbial community structure were assessed in phaeozem soil. The result showed that phosphatase activities were decreased in soils with Cd (10 mg/kg of soil) alone whereas urease acitivities were unaffected by Cd. Urease and phosphatase activities were significantly reduced by high butachlor concentration (50 mg/kg of soil). When Cd and butachlor concentrations in soils were added at milligram ratio of 2:1 or 1:2, urease and phosphatase activities were decreased, while enzyme activities were greatly improved at the ratio of 1:5. This study indicates that the combined effects of Cd and butachlor on soil urease and phosphatase activities depend largely on the addition concentration ratios to soils. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis showed that the changes occurring in RAPD profiles of different treated samples included variation in loss of normal bands and appearance of new bands compared with the control soil. The RAPD fingerprints showed substantial differences between the control and treated soil samples, with apparent changes in the number and size of amplified DNA fragments. The results showed that the addition of high concentration butachlor and the combined applied Cd and butachlor significantly affected the diversity of microbial community. The present results suggest that RAPD analysis in conjunction with other biomarkers such as soil enzyme parameter etc. would prove a powerful ecotoxicological tool.